Hormonal
Statins are the first-line pharmacological therapy for lowering LDL-cholesterol in HIV patients, but require careful dose adjustment and monitoring due to drug-drug interactions with protease inhibitors (PIs) and NNRTIs.
If lifestyle changes aren't enough, statins are the first drug choice for high cholesterol. However, some statins interact dangerously with certain HIV drugs (like ritonavir-boosted PIs). Your doctor will choose a safe statin (like atorvastatin or rosuvastatin) and adjust the dose to avoid side effects while lowering your cholesterol.
Statins are recommended as first-line therapy to reduce elevated LDL-cholesterol levels. Co-administration of statins and ART should be carried out with due consideration of possible drug–drug interactions (Table 3). Simvastatin is contraindicated in patients receiving ritonavir-boosted PI-based ART.
Why this rating
Guideline-based recommendation with specific interaction data.
Source
European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) guidelines on the prevention and management of metabolic diseases in HIV<sup>*</sup>
Jens Lundgren et al. · HIV Medicine · 2008
DOI 10.1111/j.1468-1293.2007.00534.x
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