Timing, adherence, resistance, and . . . Persistence? new insight into the mechanisms of failure of HIV type 1 postexposure prophylaxis

摘要

Every day, hundreds of thousand healthcare workers (HCWs) worldwide are at risk of occupational exposure to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In the absence of a safe and effective preventive vaccine, the only way of preventing HIV infection is avoiding exposure to the virus, through safe practices and procedures and protective equipment. When occupational exposure occurs, current guidelines recommend the prompt use of postexposure prophylaxis (PEP), consisting of systemic treatment with a combination of several antiretroviral drugs . Although there are no clinical trials on the use of PEP, data from case-control studies show a substantial reduction of the infection rate when PEP is administered .