LABORATORY SAFETY DATA IN ZIDOVUDINE-TREA TED NEONATES BORN TO HIV-POSITIVE MOTHERS

The rate of transmission of the HIV from the antiretroviral-naive preg nant woman with moderate immune deficiency (CD4 > 200/mm(3)) to her of fspring can be significantly reduced by giving zidovudine to the mothe r orally from the 14th to the 34th week of gestation then parenterally during delivery, and by using the same drug orally in the neonate. Th e infant should be closely monitored for evidence of bone marrow suppr ession and muscular toxicity. Laboratory safety data were evaluated pr ospectively in 22 mother-infant pairs and compared to those in matched controls. Bone marrow suppression persisted longer after treatment di scontinuation in the infants than in the adults. An elevation in aspar tate aminotransferase activity, probably of muscular origin, was seen at birth, suggesting that mitochondria-rich organs (muscles, heart, li ver) should be monitored closely.