The effects of zidovudine in the subset of infants infected with human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group Protocol 076)

George D. McSherry, David E. Shapiro, Robert W. Coombs, Nuala McGrath, Lisa M. Frenkel, Paula Britto, Mary Culnane, Rhoda S. Sperling

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: To describe the effect of zidovudine on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and on the course of disease in infants who became infected while they and their mothers received zidovudine preventive therapy or placebo in Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group Protocol 076. Study design: Observational substudy of a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Methods: We compared the progression of disease, timing of HIV-1 transmission, and the plasma HIV-1 RNA level in infected infants of mother-infant pairs who were randomly assigned to receive zidovudine (n = 14) or placebo (n = 43). The development of genotypic zidovudine resistance was assessed among infected infants in the zidovudine treatment group. Results: In this limited study, zidovudine therapy during pregnancy and labor and in the neonatal period for 6 weeks failed to have a major effect on rapid progression of disease, timing of transmission, and vital replication in HIV-infected infants. When the zidovudine treatment regimen failed to prevent maternal-infant transmission of HIV-1, resistance to zidovudine did not develop during study treatment. Conclusions: Our study supports the safety of zidovudine use in pregnancy and in the newborn period but demonstrates the continued need for more potent antiretroviral treatment of the infected infant.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)717-724
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Pediatrics
Volume134
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 1999

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health

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