More on HLA B5701 Testing Before Abacavir Therapy

Pretreatment screening for the HLA B5701 allele essentially eliminated abacavir hypersensitivity reactions in a racially diverse clinic population.

Abacavir use has been limited because of concerns about hypersensitivity reaction, a potentially life-threatening complication that occurs in 5% to 8% of abacavir recipients. Australian studies indicate that pretreatment testing for the HLA B5701 allele (which is strongly correlated with abacavir hypersensitivity reaction) significantly reduces both “true” hypersensitivity reactions and early discontinuations for suspected reactions (ACC Apr 1 2002 and Jun 28 2006). Now, investigators have conducted a two-part study in France to evaluate HLA testing in a more racially diverse population.

In the first phase of the study, researchers retrospectively reviewed the experiences of 49 patients (40 white and 9 black) who had received abacavir. Of th…

Reviewing Author

Paul E. Sax, MD

More on HLA B5701 Testing Before Abacavir Therapy

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