General Use

The goal of antiretroviral therapy in the management of HIV infection is to improve CD4 cell counts and ↓ viral load. If accomplished, this generally results in slowed progression of the disease, improved quality of life, and ↓ opportunistic infections. Perinatal use of agents also prevents transmission of the virus to the fetus. Postexposure and pre-exposure prophylaxis with certain antiretrovirals is also recommended.