The clinical relevance of drug interactions in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection: update 2009-2014

To update information about drug interactions in patients with HIV/AIDS. Comprehensive literature review in MEDLINE/PubMed database from May of 2009 to December of 2014, using the Mesh terms: Anti-retroviral agents and drug interactions or herb-drug interactions or food-drug interactions. Publications with drug interactions in humans, in English or Spanish, and with full text were retrieved. Additionally, citation lists from identified articles were reviewed. The study inclusion was assessed by three independent researchers and by consensus among them when was necessary. Clinical relevance of drug interaction was grouped into four levels according to seriously and probability of occurrence. Global, 546 different references were retrieved and 243 were selected. In addition 11 further manuscripts were identified in the references of the included articles. Overall, 935 pairs of drug interactions were identified, 95.7% pharmacokinetic (823 by enzyme induction or inhibition and 67 by changes in bioavailability). Of the 935 pairs of drug interactions, 402(43%) were classified as levels 1 or 2. The most clinically relevant antiretroviral drug interactions are due to pharmacokinetic mechanism, mainly induction or enzyme inhibition, according to previous reviews, the protease inhibitors remain as the antiretrovirals with the highest number of clinical relevant interactions.