Paediatric treatment issues

Compared with the therapeutic options available for the treatment of HIV in fection in adults, the therapeutic options available for the treatment of p aediatric patients is limited. New anti-HIV agents are needed to broaden th e range of effective therapeutic options. However, several factors need to be considered when treating HIV infection in paediatric patients. It is imp ortant that the antiviral combination is potent and has at least one agent with adequate CNS penetration. In addition, to aid adherence if is importan t that any new agent is administered once daily and that the paediatric for mulation is palatable. Furthermore, a good safety profile and compatibility with other anti-HIV drugs is also important. Efavirenz has many properties that make it suitable for the treatment of HIV infection especially in pae diatric patients. In addition, recent clinical evidence indicate that efavi renz will be a very useful drug for paediatric therapy.