HHS revises HIV
treatment guidelines

A Department of Health and Human Services panel on Thursday published new guidelines for the treatment of HIV-positive Americans, including calling for all newly diagnosed patients to be tested for drug resistance before treatment is started. Following up on data from a large-scale study that showed HIV patients who took treatment breaks were more than twice as likely to experience rapid disease progression and face a higher risk of death, the panel also now recommends that antiretroviral therapy not be stopped once it has been started. The revisions also state that, for patients coinfected with HIV and hepatitis B, a regimen including Viread and either Epivir or Emtriva, plus other antiretroviral drugs, should be considered as first-line treatment for both diseases. (The Advocate)