Newer antiretroviral agents and how to use them

Several relatively new antiretroviral drugs have been approved or are under investigation. These include nucleoside and nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, protease and integrase strand transfer inhibitors, CCR5 antagonists, and an entirely new class of maturation inhibitors. Although most of these drugs were developed for patients with drug-resistant HIV-1, some have demonstrated a potential role for those starting treatment for the first time. This review incorporates data from the most recent treatment guidelines, peer-reviewed publications, and recent presentations at research meetings about some of these relatively new and emerging antiretroviral agents and offers strategies for incorporating them into clinical practice.