If it is necessary to individually select the dose, it is recommended to use separate preparations of lamivudine and zidovudine. Doctors should be guided by information on the use of these drugs.
Patients should be warned about the possible consequences associated with the joint use of other drugs without prescribing a doctor.
Patients should be informed that treatment with antiretroviral drugs, such as the Lazevun® drug, does not prevent the risk of HIV transmission to other people during sexual intercourse or blood contamination, so patients should take appropriate precautions.
Opportunistic infections
Despite the use of Lazevun® or any other antiretroviral drug, opportunistic infections and other complications of HIV infection can develop in patients. Therefore, patients should be under constant supervision of physicians with experience in treating patients with HIV-associated diseases.
Hematologic disorders
Perhaps the development of anemia, neutropenia, leukopenia (usually secondary due to neutropenia) in patients receiving zidovudine. These phenomena are more often observed with the appointment of high doses of zidovudine (1200-1500 mg / day) in patients in the late stages of HIV infection with a reduced bone marrow reserve before the start of treatment. Therefore, patients receiving the drug Lazevun®, it is necessary to conduct regular monitoring of hematological indicators. These hematologic changes usually appear no earlier than 4-6 weeks after the start of therapy. In patients with a developed clinical picture of HIV infection, blood tests should be monitored at least once every 2 weeks during the first three months of therapy, and then at least once a month.In patients at an early stage of HIV infection, unwanted reactions from the blood system are rare. In this situation, a general blood test can be done less often, focusing on the general condition of the patient, for example, once every 1-3 months.
A special dose of zidovudine may be required if severe anemia or myelosuppression develops during Lazevun® treatment, as well as in patients with previous bone marrow suppression, for example, hemoglobin concentrations of less than 9 g / dl (5.59 mmol / L) neutrophils less than 1.0x109/ l. Since it is impossible to select the dose of Lazevun® individually, it is recommended to use separate preparations of lamivudine and zidovudine.
Pancreatitis
In patients who took lamivudine and zidovudine, rare cases of development of pancreatitis are described. However, it is not established whether this complication is caused by medications or the underlying disease - HIV infection. If the patient has abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, or increased biochemical markers, the possibility of developing pancreatitis should be considered. You should stop taking Lazevun® before the diagnosis of pancreatitis.
Lactic acidosis and severe hepatomegaly with steatosis
There are reports of the development of lactic acidosis, severe hepatomegaly with steatosis, including fatal outcomes due to antiretroviral therapy with nucleoside analogues in the form of individual drugs, including lamivudine or a combination thereof. Similar phenomena were observed, mainly, in women.
The clinical signs of developing lactic acidosis are general weakness, anorexia, rapid unexplained weight loss, symptoms of gastrointestinal tract damage (nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain) and respiratory system (rapid and / or deep breathing), neurological symptoms (including motor weakness) .
Treatment with analogues of nucleosides should be discontinued in case of symptomatic hyperlactatemia and metabolic acidosis / lactic acidosis, progressive hepatomegaly, or a rapid increase in aminotransferase activity.
Caution should be exercised when using nucleoside analogues to treat any patient (especially obese women) with hepatomegaly, hepatitis, or other known risk factors for liver damage and liver steatosis (including the use of certain drugs and alcohol use).
Patients with co-infection with hepatitis C and patients who receive treatment with alpha interferon and ribavirin may constitute a special risk group.
Lipodystrophy
In some patients receiving combined antiretroviral therapy, there may be a redistribution and / or accumulation of subcutaneous fat, including central obesity, dorsocervical fat deposition ("buffalo buffalo"), a reduction in the subcutaneous fat layer on the face and extremities, enlargement of the mammary glands , increased serum lipid concentrations and glucose concentrations, both individually and collectively.
Although all preparations from classes of HIV protease inhibitors and NRTIs can cause one or more of the abovementioned unwanted reactions associated with a common syndrome, often called lipodystrophy, the accumulated evidence suggests that there are differences between individual representatives of these classes of drugs in the ability to induce these undesirable reactions.
It should also be noted that lipodystrophy syndrome has a multifactorial etiology: for example, the stage of HIV infection, the elderly age and the duration of antiretroviral therapy play an important, possibly synergistic role in the development of this complication.
The long-term consequences of these undesirable reactions are as yet unknown.
During the clinical examination, attention should be paid to the signs of redistribution of subcutaneous fat. It is necessary to closely monitor the serum lipids concentration and blood glucose concentration. If the lipid metabolism is disturbed, an appropriate treatment is prescribed.
Syndrome of restored immunity
If HIV-infected patients with severe immunodeficiency have asymptomatic opportunistic infections or their residual effects at the time of initiation of antiretroviral therapy, such therapy may lead to an increase in the symptoms of opportunistic infections or other severe consequences. Typically, these reactions occur within the first weeks or months after initiation of antiretroviral therapy. Typical examples are cytomegalovirus retinitis, generalized or focal infection caused by mycobacteria, and pneumonia caused by Pneumocystis jiroveci (P.carinii). The appearance of any symptoms of inflammation requires immediate examination and, if necessary, treatment.
Autoimmune diseases (such as Graves' disease, polymyositis and Guillain-Barre syndrome) were observed against the background of restoration of immunity, however, the time of primary manifestations varied, and the disease could occur many months after the initiation of therapy and have an atypical course.
Co-infection of HIV and viral hepatitis B
Clinical studies and post-registration data on the use of lamivudine suggest that in some patients with concomitant viral hepatitis B (HBV), clinical or laboratory signs of hepatitis recurrence may appear after stopping lamivudine, which may have more severe consequences in patients with decompensated liver damage. Therefore, in patients with concomitant viral hepatitis B, when Lazevun® is withdrawn, indicators of functional hepatic samples should be monitored and the hepatitis B virus replication markers should be regularly monitored for 4 months.
In patients with an initially present impaired liver function, including an active form of chronic hepatitis, there is an increase in the incidence of liver function abnormalities in combination antiretroviraltherapy. Such patients need to be monitored in accordance with standard clinical practice. It is necessary to consider the possibility of suspending or stopping treatment in cases of manifestations of worsening liver disease in such patients.
Co-infection of HIV and viral hepatitis C
The aggravation of anemia was observed with the combined use of ribavirin and zudovudine, although the mechanism of development of this phenomenon remains unclear. Thus, simultaneous use of ribavirin and zidovudine is not recommended, especially in patients with a history of zidovudine-induced anemia. In these cases, it is recommended to consider the possibility of changing the regimen of antiretroviral therapy with the aim of reversing zidovudine.
Diseases of the liver
The efficacy and safety of zudovudine have not been established in patients with severe concomitant liver disease. In patients with chronic hepatitis B or C who use combination antiretroviral therapy, the risk of developing serious and potentially leading to death adverse reactions from the liver increases. In the case of concomitant antiviral therapy for the treatment of hepatitis B and C,also refer to the respective instructions for use for the medications used.
Mitochondrial dysfunction
Research in vitro and in vivo showed that the analogues of nucleosides and nucleotides can cause a different degree of damage to the mitochondria. Mitochondrial dysfunction was observed in HIV-negative children who received intrauterine and / or post-nucleoside analogues.
The main undesirable reactions were hematologic disorders (anemia, neutropenia), metabolic disorders (hyperlactatemia, hyperlipazemia). These undesirable reactions are often transient. Some neurological disorders with late onset have been reported (hypertension, seizures, behavioral disorders). Whether these neurological disorders are transient or persistent is currently unknown.
Any child, even HIV-negative, exposed to prenatal exposure to nucleoside and nucleotide analogues, must undergo a clinical and laboratory examination in order to exclude mitochondrial dysfunction in case of revealing the corresponding signs or symptoms.These data do not affect the current national guidelines for the use of antiretroviral therapy in pregnant women to prevent the vertical transmission of HIV infection.
Osteonecrosis
Although the etiology of this disease is multifactorial (including the intake of glucocorticosteroids, alcohol consumption, severe immunosuppression, high body mass index), cases of osteonecrosis were most often encountered in patients at a late stage of HIV infection and / or who took long-term combined antiretroviral therapy.
Patients should consult a doctor if they experience pain and joint stiffness or difficulty in moving.