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Abacavir hypersensitivity reaction is a clinical syndrome characterized by fever, rash, and other systemic complaints within 6 weeks of abacavir initiation. These symptoms remit when the drug is discontinued and worsen with reexposure. Previous studies have demonstrated that the HLA B5701 allele, which is most common in Caucasian populations, has a high positive predictive value for this reaction (Lancet 2002; 359:727). Now, researchers have evaluated whether genetic testing for this allele can be used to guide treatment choices and thereby reduce the incidence of abacavir hypersensitivity reaction.
From January 2002 through July 2005, abacavir-naive patients in the Western Australian HIV Cohort Study were tested for HLA B5701 before startin…