rss
Sex Transm Infect 2003;79:448-452 doi:10.1136/sti.79.6.448
  • HIV/AIDS

A pilot study to evaluate the safety and feasibility of the administration of AZT/3TC fixed dose combination to HIV infected pregnant women and their infants in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

  1. J S Lambert1,
  2. S A Nogueira2,
  3. T Abreu2,
  4. E S Machado2,
  5. T P Costa2,
  6. M Bondarovsky2,
  7. M Andrade2,
  8. M Halpern3,
  9. R Barbosa3,
  10. M Perez2
  1. 1University of Maryland Institute of Human Virology, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, and the Institute of Child Health, London, UK
  2. 2HUCFF/IPPMG/ME-Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  3. 3Hospital Raphael de Paula Souza (HRPS), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  1. Correspondence to:
 John S Lambert MD
 PhD, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK; lambertumbi.umd.edu and jlambertich.ucl.ac.uk
  • Accepted 21 May 2003

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the safety and feasibility of zidovudine and lamivudine (AZT/3TC) given to HIV infected pregnant women and their infants in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Methods: This open label phase II study enrolled 40 HIV infected antiretroviral naive women ≥20 weeks gestation, CD4 <500 cells ×106/l, from two public hospitals. Treatment: fixed dose AZT 300 mg/3TC 150 mg by mouth every 12 hours until labour; AZT 300 mg by mouth every 3 hours until delivery; infants: AZT 4 mg/kg every 12 hours plus 3TC 2 mg/kg every 12 hours for 6 weeks. Blood haematology and chemistry were monitored; adherence evaluated by pills count; efficacy measured by changes in lymphocyte (CD4) and viral load, and by HIV RNA-PCR tests performed at birth, 6 and 12 weeks, to diagnose infant infection. No women breast fed.

Results: Patient characteristics: mean age 24.48 (SD 3.5) years; gestational age 24.5 (4.5) weeks; AZT/3TC duration 14.4 (4.4) weeks; vaginal delivery: 11/39; caesarean section: 28/39. Entry and pre-labour CD4: 310/486 cells ×106/l (p<0.001); entry and pre-labour viral load: 53 818/2616 copies/ml (p<0.001). Thirty nine women tolerated treatment with >80% adherence; one was lost to follow up. Five newborns were excluded from 3TC receipt. All 39 babies were uninfected. Haematological toxicity in newborns was common: anaemia in 27; neutropenia in five (two severe); platelets counts <100 000 in two. All values recovered on study completion.

Conclusions: Fixed dose AZT/3TC is well accepted, gives improvements in CD4 and viral load; no infants were HIV infected. Haematological toxicity in infants needs careful monitoring.

Footnotes

    This Article

    1. Abstract
    2. Full text
    3. PDF

    Responses

    1. Submit a response
    2. No responses published

    Register for free content

    The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.

    Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.