Antiretroviral prescriptions with potential drug-drug interactions from general practitioners and specialists

Abstract

1with about 5 million of them living in South Africa (SA). The World Health Organization estimated that 4.7 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa urgently needed antiretroviral therapy (ART). In that year SA implemented prescribed minimum benefits (PMBs) for HIV/AIDS in the private health care sector. 2 Despite the increased availability and affordability of ART in SA, only 60 000 people were receiving ART through medical aid schemes by mid-2005. 3 Antiretrovirals (ARVs) have transformed HIV/AIDS into a chronic disorder that can be managed effectively. The right of all HIVinfected adults and children to receive standard care is endorsed by the SA HIV Clinicians Society (SAHIVCS), 4 with ART guidelines recommending different combinations. The rapid approval of new drugs resulted in an increased risk of prescribing errors, dispensing of incorrect dosages/dose frequencies, and incorrect reporting of drugs by the patient to the prescribers, 5 all leading to treatment failure. Drug-drug interactions (DDIs) are an under-recognised consequence of medication prescription errors, resulting in significant health care costs. 6 Since DDIs determine positive and negative consequences of treatment for HIV-infected patients, recommendations to avoid some drug combinations and to adjust dosages of some co-administered drugs were formulated by both the SAHIVCS 4