An ongoing dialogue on HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases,
June 8th, 2012
SPARTAN: Two-Drug, NRTI-Sparing Strategies Continue to Disappoint
Just published is the cleverly named “SPARTAN” study — spartan because it leaves out both NRTIs and ritonavir — and the results are very interesting. Ninety-three treatment-naive HIV-positive study subjects were randomized 2:1 to receive either a two-drug regimen of raltegravir 400 mg BID + atazanavir 300 mg BID, or a standard regimen of TDF/FTC + boosted atazanavir. […]
March 3rd, 2010
Ritonavir Tablets: Any Experience Out There Yet?
Ritonavir tablets have been approved, and are apparently now in pharmacies. The capsules will also remain available for the foreseeable future. However, I haven’t switched anyone over from the capsules yet, and neither has anyone else in our practice. Would be interested in hearing how it’s going so far — best news would be that the tablets […]
February 11th, 2010
Ritonavir Tablet Approved
It’s not on Abbott’s web site yet (update: now it’s here), but the FDA has approved a new formulation of ritonavir — a heat-stable 100 mg tablet. From an e-mail release by the FDA: On February 10, 2010, FDA approved Norvir (ritonavir) 100 mg Tablets. These tablets do not require refrigeration. Unlike the capsule formulation [pictured], […]
April 24th, 2009
Colonoscopy in HIV Patients, Part II: Problem (Mostly) Solved
Both here and on the AIDS Clinical Care site, we posted a case of a 50-year-old HIV+ man in need of a screening colonoscopy. What sedation could he receive while on tenofovir/FTC and ritonavir-boosted atazanavir? Specifically, would midazolam and fentanyl (“contraindicated” in the ritonavir package insert) be ok? (Same issue for efavirenz, by the way.) We solicited […]
February 13th, 2009
CROI 2009: Greatest Hits
Fresh back from lovely Montreal, where the temperature (I’m glad to report) climbed into the balmy 40’s … Here’s a rapid-fire listing of the Greatest Hits. As I’m sure to be leaving something off this list, happy to accept other suggestions: Interleukin-2 does not work. The ESPRIT and SILCAAT studies are over. Yes, the CD4’s increase, but […]
January 29th, 2009
Too Many Options: What Actually Happened
We recently published a case in AIDS Clinical Care entitled “Too Many Options”, describing a patient with longstanding HIV infection, virologic failure, and resistance to NRTIs, NNRTIs, and PIs. Fortunately, resistance and tropism testing gave him several options for a new drug regimen — including darunavir, etravirine, maraviroc, enfuvirtide, and — if one believes phenotypic NRTI […]