TheBodyPro clinical overview<\/p>\n
As we more frequently prescribe injectables, two-drug therapies, and other novel antiretroviral regimens, a growing proportion of those regimens lack tenofovir. Because tenofovir is used to treat hepatitis B virus (HBV) and is partially protective against new HBV infection, providers need to consider the risk of new or reactivated HBV before switching a patient to a tenofovir-sparing regimen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we are very much in, and entering, an era where increasingly more therapeutic options for antiretroviral therapy and PrEP are going to be without tenofovir,\u201d said H. Nina Kim, M.D., M.Sc., a professor of medicine at University of Washington\u2019s Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Kim co-authored a viewpoint paper<\/a> this May in Clinical Infectious Diseases highlighting the issue so that clinicians can protect patients against potentially harmful reactivations and new HBV infections.<\/p>\n \u201cMany of these reactivations may be subclinical with mild rise in liver enzymes,\u201d Kim said. \u201cBut it can cause rip-roaring, acute liver injury to the point where you might ultimately need a liver transplant \u2014 or it might cause death.\u201d The point isn\u2019t to cause alarm but rather to be aware. \u201cIt\u2019s probably an infrequent event and depends on your profile,\u201d she said, \u201cBut the reason why we\u2019re paying attention to this is because the stakes are kind of high.\u201d<\/p>\n Serological testing is thus warranted before switching to tenofovir-sparing regimens \u2014 whether the patient is receiving treatment, prevention taking part in a clinical trial.<\/p>\n