Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - August 7, 2003
Passing the test: Nevirapine is generally safe and well tolerated by children, reports a United Kingdom paper published in the latest edition of the journal AIDS, but the investigators found that effective control of the virus was improved when they received a higher dose than recommended by the drug's manufacturer.
Investigators at St Mary's hospital in London and the North Manchester hospital reviewed the cases of 74 children who were prescribed nevirapine as part of an anti-retroviral programme between 1997 and 1999. The investigators wanted to establish the drug's safety and its effect on HIV disease progression, CD4 cell count, HIV viral load, and which dose of nevirapine proved the safest and most effective.
Both the liquid suspension and the pill were well tolerated.
A dose of nevirapine higher than the manufacturer's recommended 300mg daily was found to be significantly associated with achieving and maintaining an undetectable viral load by the end of the study.
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