A one-year clinical trial using didanosine, stavudine and nevirapine for highly active antiretroviral therapy

Antiretroviral therapy is a key determinant in the treatment and prevention of human immunodeficiency virus （HIV） infection. Initial treatment for patients with HIV infection generally includes two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors （NRTI） and a protease inhibitor （PI） or a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor （NNRTI）. The combination antiretroviral therapy （refers to highly active antiretroviral therapy or HAART） showed a significant effect upon reducing morbidity and mortality of HIV disease. Cao and colleagues1 began the clinical application of HAART in 1999 and completed the first clinical trial in China using a combination of two NRTIs and one PI. The result in using combivir （AZT+3TC） and indinavir （2 NRTIs+1 PI） are consistent with those reported in the literature.2 In this study, we report the first virological and immunological outcomes in HIV infected Chinese patients treated with a combination of didanosine, stavudine and nevirapine （2 NRTIs+1 NNRTI） for 52 weeks.