Drug-induced liver injury related to Triumeq (abacavir/lamivudine/dolutegravir) has not been reported in clinical trials. We report a case of hepatotoxicity related to Triumeq exposure in a human immunodeficiency virus-infected patient. Clinicians should remain aware of the risk for acute and late-onset hepatitis with these agents. Close monitoring is recommended.

Sustained increase of serum creatine phosphokinase (CPK) concentrations and muscle abnormalities have been reported in patients taking raltegravir (RAL). In this report, we describe a case of sustained and asymptomatic increase of serum CPK concentrations associated with raltegravir, zidovudine, and lamivudine in an HIV-1 experienced patient with intolerance to protease inhibitor, abacavir and ...

In this column, we summarize and discuss key studies, results of which you may want to consider and discuss with colleagues and patients. THERAPIES FOR INITIAL TREATMENT What Are the Optimal First-Line NRTIs? Several presentations provided important new data regarding the optimal NRTI combination as part of an initial drug regimen. These studies were presented shortly after a new iteration of t...

served on an advisory panel for Roche Molecular Systems and is involved in evaluating abacavir and cardiovascular risk in studies of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG). Understanding the risk of cardiovascular disease in persons with human immu-nodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is complex. Controversy exists as to how much risk can be attributed to host genetics, traditional risk factors, a...

ANY TESTING OF MEDICAL TREATMENTS IS AN EXERcise in comparison. In a typical clinical trial, 2 treatments are compared to determine which is better or if both are the same. Trials designed to address whether one treatment is better than the other may be called superiority trials, whereas those designed to show that 2 treatments are the same are called equivalence trials. However, the design of ...