The objective of the study was to determine the
predisposing factors and
incidence of
toxicity among
AIDS patients treated with a
nevirapine (NVP)-based regimen in clinical practice. A retrospective
cohort study of representative samples of
AIDS patients treated with a NVP-based regimen was performed. A total of 206
adult HIV/
AIDS cases with median age (IQR) 33 years (range, 29-38 years), 51%
male, treated between January 2004-December 2005, were included. Most (92.2%) of the
patients were naïve to antiretroviral
drug. The
incidence of NVP
toxicity was 1.09/100
person-months. The median onset
time was 4 weeks post NVP initiation (2.57 weeks for
skin toxicity and 12.43 weeks for hepatic
toxicity).
History of
drug allergy and NVP
toxicity were significantly associated (p = 0.006), as were
sulfamethoxazole allergy and
toxicity (p = 0.015). Regarding concomitant medication, concurrent
anti-tuberculosis drugs significantly increased the
risk of NVP associated
liver toxicity (p = 0.001). Therefore, it is important to monitor adverse events from NVP, including
liver function tests among
HIV/
AIDS patients with
history of
drug allergy, especially against
sulfamethoxazole, and those concurrently treated with antituberculosis
drugs.