HIV treatment guidelines revised

Abstract

Recently revised U.S. guidelines for the treatment of HIV in adults and adolescents contain no sweeping new recommendations but instead reflect smaller shifts in consensus as well as areas where experts do not agree. “The changes are subtle,” said Gene D. Morse, professor of pharmacy practice, medicine, and pediatrics and associate director of the New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, University at Buffalo. Morris said the revised guidelines, which were released in December 2009 at aidsinfo.nih.gov, clarify when to use viral genotype and phenotype tests to guide therapy. “The testing has been available for about 10 years, but each time the guidelines come out, it’s a little more defined about when you should use genotype and when you should use phenotype,” Morris said. Genotype testing is the preferred method to guide therapy in patients with a “suboptimal” virologic response or who have not responded to first- or second-line regimens, according to the revised guidelines.