Nevirapine Use to Reduce Mother-To-Child Transmission of HIV in Canada

Abstract

Nevirapine (NVP) is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) that is used to treat adults and children with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The drug was licensed in Canada in September 1998 and has been widely used in combination antiretroviral therapy regimens, usually along with two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. NVP is, generally, well tolerated; however, up to 20% of patients may develop rash, with a severe rash occurring in 6% of patients and Stevens-Johnson syndrome reported in 0.5% of patients. A large number of NNRTI mutations have been documented, and a single mutation, K103N, confers a degree of broad NNRTI resistance. Distinctions occur in resistance patterns to different NNRTIs (1).