Guidelines and Recommendations

A previously published report provided guidelines for managing the pharmacologic interactions that can result when patients receive protease inhibitors and nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) for treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection together with rifamycins for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB). Protease inhibitors and NNRTIs are antiretroviral agents that are substrates that may inhibit or induce cytochrome P-450 isoenzymes (CYP450). Rifamycins are antituberculosis agents that induce CYP450 and may decrease substantially blood levels of the antiretroviral drugs. The pharmacologic interactions are called "drug-drug" because, in addition to the effect rifamycins have on protease inhibitors and NNRTIs, the antiretroviral agents may affect the blood levels of rifamycins. This notice presents updated data pertaining to drug-drug interactions between these agents and recommendations for their use from a group of CDC scientists and outside expert consultants.