PREAMBLE

The advent of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) has made it possible to view infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) as a chronic and manageable disease. This is because HAART improves the clinical status of the vast majority of patients with HIV/AIDS, as long as lifelong antiretroviral treatment is accepted and tight adherence to the prescribed regimen is maintained.

As data accrue from long-term follow-up of patients on HAART, the crucial role of patient adherence emerges. Not only is adherence incomplete, but it also declines over time. Patient adherence is crucial with respect to all targets of antiretroviral treatment: early virologic response, long-term viral suppression, decreased risk of emergence of resistance, immune reconstitution and prevention of clinical complications.

Consequently, obtaining and maintaining adherence to antiretroviral therapy is a key step to successful treatment of HIV. Several antiretroviral drugs are approved for once-daily dosing. The combination of efavirenz, didanosine and lamivudine represents one such combination that can be dosed just once-daily, and is probably the first of its kind. Further, its availability in a kit form should enhance patient adherence and ensure that not even a single dose of any drug is missed.