Preliminary experiences with triple therapy including nelfinavir and two reverse transcriptase inhibitors in previously untreated HIV-infected children

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Abstract
In an intent-to-treat study increase in CD4 cell count, reduction of viral load, clinical benefit and adverse reactions were examined in HIV-infected previously treatment-naive children taking triple therapy. sixteen HIV-infected children in category A or B on antiretroviral triple therapy were followed-up for a period of 12 months. In group I eight patients received zidovudine, lamivudine and nelfinavir; in group II eight patients received stavudine, didanosine and nelfinavir. Viral load and CD4 cell count were measured every 4-8 weeks. Plasma nelfinavir levels were assessed once in all patients at baseline and monitored in patients with increasing viral load. No significant differences were observed between treatment groups in terms of CD4 cell counts and viral load. A median viral load reduction of 2.8 log10 (range, 1.4-4.2 log10) was achieved over a period of 12 months in both groups. Viral load Triple antiretroviral therapy shows a stronger and more sustained reduction of viral load in HIV-infected children compared with studies combining two nucleoside analogues.