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PI Perspective 25: Combivir® Alert!


Project Inform - September, 1998

Discretion should be taken when considering modification of personal treatment plans with Combivir®. Some doctors may be confused about Combivir® and how it fits into anti-HIV therapy strategies. To illustrate this point, consider the following scenario:

A man was taking a two-drug combination of AZT (zidovudine, Retrovir®) and 3TC (lamivudine, Epivir®). He and his doctor began seeing a trend of increases in his viral load and decreases in his CD4+ cell count. His doctor wisely recommended that he switch to a new regimen. He then prescribed Combivir® and Indinavir (Crixivan®).

Combivir® is a combination pill form of AZT+3TC. It is not a new drug. If people have been on AZT+3TC, then switching to Combivir® is equivalent to continuing on AZT+3TC. If someone is failing an AZT+3TC combination regimen, they will not benefit from Combivir®. Essentially this man was put on indinavir alone, which may quickly lead to indinavir resistance which may result in decreased or no benefit from other protease inhibitors.

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Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1998. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

©1998. This document is copyrighted by Project Inform, 205 13th Street, #2001, San Francisco, CA 94103. Treatment Hotline: 800-822-7422 (toll-free) or 415-558-9051 (in the San Francisco Bay Area and internationally) All Project Inform materials may be reprinted and/or distributed without prior permission. However, reprints may not be edited and must include the following text: "From Project Inform, for more information contact the Project Inform National HIV/AIDS Treatment Hotline, 800-822-7422." For permission to edit any Project Inform material for further publication, contact David Evans at the Project Inform office.

Project Inform, established in 1985 as a national, non profit, community-based HIV/AIDS treatment information and advocacy organization, serves HIV-infected individuals, their care-givers, and their healthcare and service providers through its national, toll-free treatment hotline, the PI Perspective and other information publications, educational Town Meetings, on-line services and research and drug access advocacy programs. All information is available free of charge; donations are strongly encouraged. For more information, contact the Project Inform National HIV/AIDS Treatment Hotline. Email: web@projinf.org; Website: http://www.projinf.org.

The original of this article can be found at http://www.projinf.org/pub/25/antiviral.html

This information is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
©1998. AEGiS.