Management of tuberculosis in HIV-infected patients

HIV-tuberculosis coinfection is currently one of the greatest health threats, affecting millions of people worldwide, with high morbidity and mortality. Treating both infections can be a challenge and requires some expertise due to multidirectional drug interactions, risk of overlapping side effects, high pill burden and risk of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome. This article reviews the general management of tuberculosis/HIV coinfection, focusing on the optimal time to start antiretroviral therapy and which treatments can be safely used. The randomized clinical trials designed to answer the question of when to start antiretroviral therapy (SAPIT, CAMELIA, STRIDE and TIME), published in the last two years, are described and discussed in detail. Summarizing these trials' conclusions, antiretroviral therapy should be started within two weeks of starting tuberculosis treatment if the patient has less than 50 CD4/mm3 and wait to the end of the induction phase (8-12 weeks after starting tuberculosis treatment) if higher CD4 cell counts exist. Treatment options for both tuberculosis and HIV, including the newer available drugs and those in clinical trials, are revised and recommendations for dose adjustments are made based on the latest available literature, with special attention to drug-drug interactions and the necessity of dose adjustments with some drug combinations.