Antiretroviral therapy: are we aware of adverse effects?

HIV/AIDS has become a chronic disease thanks to the availability of antiretroviral drugs. Many of these antiretroviral drugs are available in India. Many more will soon become available. The cost of these drugs is being reduced gradually and their use is increasing. However, there are both short term and long term side effects. This review focuses on the common potential toxicities of antiretroviral drugs and their management. The potential toxicities include gastrointestinal effects, hepatitis, hypersensitivity reactions, cytochrome P450 interactions, mitochondrial toxicity and lipodystrophy syndrome as well as more drug-specific adverse effects.