When should HAART be initiated in pregnancy to achieve an undetectable viral load?
Polly Clayden, HIV i-Base Women who do not need treatment for their own HIV in resource-rich countries generally receive a short course of HAART in pregnancy to prevent mother to child transmission (MTCT). It is considered a safe option for women with low or undetectable viral loads (VL) to choose vaginal delivery. BHIVA guidelines recommend a cut off of <50 copies/mL and the US guidelines <1000 copies/mL. However the optimum timing to initiate short course HAART and achieve an undetectable viral load is uncertain. A poster authored by Phillip Read and colleagues showed findings from a retrospective UK study across five centres in London and the South East, conducted to provide data for clinicians for the timing of short course HAART in pregnancy. All available data were included for women commencing boosted PI, NNRTI or triple NRTI based HAART from 2000 onwards In this study demographics, gestation, drug class, CD4 count, and VL results were collated. VL data were right-censored at de
