A patient began antiretroviral therapy several weeks ago for the treatment of HIV, and he has now presented to the clinic for a scheduled follow-up appointment
He states to the nurse, "I've been pretty good about taking all my pills on time, though it was a bit hit and miss over the holiday weekend." How should the nurse best respond to this patient's statement? A) "Remember that if you miss a dose, you need to take a double dose at the next scheduled time."
B) "It's acceptable to miss an occasional dose as long as your symptoms don't get worse, but it's not really recommended."
C) "Remember that your antiretroviral drugs will only be effective if you take them very consistently."
D) "If you're not consistent with taking your medications, you're likely to develop more side effects."
C
Feedback:
Effective treatment of HIV infection requires close adherence to drug therapy regimens involving several drugs and daily doses. Missing as few as one or two doses can decrease blood levels of antiretroviral drugs and result in increased HIV replication and development of drug-resistant viral strains.
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