HOW IS HIV TREATED?

* Be aware that the recommended treatments of illnesses are always being improved. This website was last update on 11/1/2024. The best treatment option MIGHT have changed since that time.

*HIV is usually treated with a combination of Anti-viral medications. Oftentimes 2 or 3 medications are contained in the same pill:
* There are over 30 different medications for the treatment of HIV infection but only about 12 are being commonly used.  
 

The 6 most commonly used combination of antiviral medications are:
1. Bictarvy: bictegravir, tenofovir alfenamide, emtricitabine * (okay during pregnancy)
2. Dovato: delutegravir, lamivudine * (don't use if pregnant)(& don't use if active Hepatitis B)
3. Triumeq: dolutegravir, lamivudine,  abacavir (If HLA-B*5701-negative)(Abacavir MIGHT also increase the risk cardiovascular disease)(also not used if active Hepatitis B)

4. Delstrigo: doravirine, lamivudine, tenofovir disoproxil fumarte * 
5. Tybost: emtricitabine, tenofovir alefenomide. daruvinir

6. Odefsey: emtricitabine, rilpivirine, tenofovir alafenomide
7. Symtuza: Darunavir, cobicistat, Tanofovir Alafenamide, Emtricibine (can be used sometimes when other medication fail)

12 Common Antiviral Medications 

NRTI (Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor)
A. Abacavir, ABC (Ziagen)
B. Emtricitabine, FTC (Emtriva)
C. Lamivudine, 3TC (Epivir)
D. Tenofovir Alafenamide, TAF (risk of osteoporosis & INSTIs resistance)
E. Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, TDF (Viread) (risk of osteoporosis & INSTIs resistance)

NNRTI (Non-nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor)
F.  Rilpivirine, RPV (Edurant)
G. Doravirine, DOR (Pifeltro)

PI (Protease Inhibitor) - Risk of Hyperlipidemia
H. Darunavir, DRV (Prexista)
I.  Ritinovir, RTV/r (Norvir)

INSTIs (Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitors)
I.  Bictegravir, BIC (Bictarvy)
J. Dolutegravir, DTG (Trivacy)

Used Only for PREP:
* Cabotegravir, CAB (risk of INSTI resisitance)

CAUTION:

1. All medication, including medications those that are anti-HIV medications, have a risk of side effects. Most anti-HIV medications have a risk of decreasing either kidney or liver function.
2. Mild side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, itching, and light skin rash.
3. Possible Severe side effects are a severe skin rash, an anaphylactic allergic reaction (leading to the inability to breathe and subsequent death if not treated rapidly), and Clostridioides difficile infection (C. Diff.) of the colon.

Consult “Epocrates.com” for each Specific Medication’s possible “Adverse Reactions.” Side effects are also referred to as “Adverse Reactions.” Epocrates.com will tell you both “common reactions” and “serious reactions.” You will have to create an account, but it is simple, fast, and free.

 

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF HIV (HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS)?

The symptoms of HIV vary widely. They vary from none to dying miserably. Sometimes when they a person is infected they have no symptoms. At other times a person may have symptoms similar to a common cold: fever, fatigue, sore throat, achey body, and swollen lymph nodes. As time proceeds, some people may continue to have no symptoms while others begin to have a variety of mild symptoms. These mild symptoms consist of things such as swollen lymph nodes in a variety of areas of the bodies (such as the neck, under the arms, and in the groin areas), white areas on the sides of the tongue, and blood changes. Without treatment most people infected with HIV will continue to have more serious symptoms. These symptoms continue to get progressively worse and include intractible diarrhea, difficulty breathing, dementia, and a variety of type of cancers, which lead to death.
 

WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF HIV (HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS)?

The cause of HIV is a virus called the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. This virus slowly attacks an infected person’s bodies immune system. At the beginning of the infection there is often very little change in the bodies outward appearance. HIV is usually spread through sexual contact—or intravenous drug use. This include rectal sex, vaginal sex, and oral sex (sex involving the mouth).

 

HOW IS HIV INFECTION DIAGNOSED?

HIV is diagnosed by a blood test to determine if a person has been infected with HIV. Currently the recommended test is the fourth generation ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). This test is the most desirable because it test two different types of HIV (HIV-1 and HIV-2 ) as well as the p24 HIV antigen. If this is positive then additional test are needed such as: CD4 count (a particular type of white blood cell that helps to predicts how long a person has been infected with HIV, a plasma HIBV RNA (which helps to determine how fast the HIV infection is progressing), a CBC (complete blood count) which helps to determine a persons general health, a white blood count (which also helps to determine a person’s general health, a chemistry (which helps to determine a person’s kidney function), and a liver function test (which determines the condition of a person’s liver). In addition, a genotype of the HIV virus may be ordered to determine if the specific type of HIV virus is resistant to the usually prescribed anti-HIV medicine.