Background and objectives: A variety of demographic factors, sex, and degree of immunosuppression can influence antiretroviral drug concentrations. The authors studied the influence of immune status, sex, and body mass index (BMI) on the steady-state pharmacokinetics of nevirapine delivered as a fixed-dose combination in HIV-1-infected patients in India.
Methods: Twenty-six HIV-1-infected adult patients undergoing treatment with nevirapine-based highly active antiretroviral therapy regimens participated in the study. Pharmacokinetic variables were compared between patients divided based on CD4 cell counts, sex, and BMI.
Results: Patients with higher BMI had lower peak and trough concentration and exposure of nevirapine than those with lower BMI; none of the differences in the pharmacokinetic variables of nevirapine between the various patient groups was statistically significant.
Conclusions: Patients' immune status, sex, or BMI had no impact on the pharmacokinetics of nevirapine. Plasma nevirapine concentrations were maintained within the therapeutic range of the drug in the majority of the patients.