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Treatment of AIDS in Children

As of 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports there are 2.1 million children living with HIV/AIDS. Many children are dying unnecessarily from the disease because they don't have access to antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. It is the most effective treatment of AIDS in children. According to Unicef, HIV and AIDS are aggressive in children and without treatment, the child's defense against infection can be damaged.

  1. ARV Drugs

    • Antiretroviral treatment (ARV) and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAARVT) are safe and successful at reducing sickness and death among children with AIDS.

    Guidelines

    • To determine whether a child is ready to begin treatment, a CD4 test is done to measure the number of T-helper cells, which are white blood cells that are prone to being attacked by HIV. If the child has a declining count of cells, it shows his immune system is weakening and he needs to begin ARV therapy.

    Considerations

    • According to avert.org, there is ongoing debate about the age children should be when starting treatment. Health care providers are trying to find a balance between the benefits of the therapy and concerns children will become resistant to the drugs or suffer from side effects if they start taking medicine too young.

    Formulation

    • ARV should consist of at least three drugs; two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors and a protease inhibitor or non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor.

    Dosage

    • During the treatment of AIDS in children, dosage depends either on the child's weight or their body surface area. Because they are constantly growing, their dosage needs to continually be re-evaluated and they must take the drugs every single day, once treatment begins.

    Side Effects

    • Drug therapy for AIDS has some side effects, ranging from mild to severe, depending on the drugs prescribed and the child. Protease inhibitors may raise cholesterol and triglyceride levels, while efavirenz has some psychiatric symptoms. Other drugs can cause temporary diarrhea, nausea or headache.

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