Glossary

HIV – Human Immunodeficiency Virus

salvage therapy – a term for the combination therapy used after someone has developed resistance to three or more classes of HIV drugs. Also called ‘third-line’ or ‘rescue therapy’ or ‘treatment of patients with multidrug resistance’.

antiretrovirals – the common name for any HIV drugs. HIV is a retrovirus, so drugs to fight HIV are called antiretrovirals. Also abbreviated to ARVs.

intent-to-treat analysis (ITT) and on-treatment analysis (OT) – two important ways that trial results are analysed. ITT includes all patients who entered the study and is more rigorous. OT only calculates the response rates for people still on the randomised treatment.

prenatal – before birth. The time in which the foetus (developing baby) grows in the uterus.