Does hepatotoxicity occur in everyone taking ARV drugs?
No, it does not. There have been a number of studies looking at the percentage of patients who develop hepatotoxicity, according to the different ARV medications they are taking. One particular study, conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, looked at rates of hepatotoxicity among 10,611 HIV-positive people participating in 21 government-funded clinical trials conducted between 1991 and 2000. Overall, 6.2% of the clinical trial participants experienced severe hepatotoxicity. Among the participants who took a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (either Viramune, Sustiva, or Rescriptor) in combination with two nucleoside analogues, severe hepatotoxicity occurred in 8.2%. Among the participants who took a protease inhibitor in combination with two nucleoside analogues, severe hepatotoxicity occurred in 5%. Unfortunately, clinical trials do not always reflect what is going to happen in the real world. Many clinical trials only follow participants for a year
