Treatment guidelines
2 August 2017. Related: Professionals, Resources.
Many national and international organisations produce guidelines for how to manage and treat HIV and related complications.
Most guidelines outline best practice and minimum standards of care developed from evidence-based medicine, but newly emerging issues are also dependent on expert opinion and interpretation of research that is sometimes conflicting.
Guidelines can also become out of date, so please always note the date any document was produced and how frequently it is updated.
The treatmentguideline.com site has a good range of international HIV guidelines.
UK guidelines: BHIVA
The British HIV Association (BHIVA) produce the following published current national guidelines.
All publications are available from the BHIVA site as free access.
- Routine investigation and monitoring of adult HIV-1-positive individuals (2016)
- Treatment of HIV-1-positive adults with antiretroviral therapy (2015) (2016 interim update)
- Use of vaccines in HIV-positive adults (2015)
- UK National Guideline for the Use of HIV Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Following Sexual Exposure (PEPSE) (2015)
- HIV and cancer (2014)guidance on best clinical practice in the treatment and management of adults with HIV infection and malignancy.
- Management of hepatitis viruses in adults infected with HIV (2013, updated 2014)Diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of HIV positive people and viral hepatitis (mainly hepatitis B or hepatitis C).
- Management of HIV infection in pregnant women (2012, interim review 2014)These guidelines focus on the health of both the mother and baby before, during and after pregnancy, including conception, use of HIV treatment, choices for delivery and feeding after the baby is born.
- Safer Sex (2012) (BASHH leading) (In need of update)
- Treatment of TB/HIV coinfection (2011) (being revised)
(Click here to participate in the E-Learning Module) - Treatment of opportunistic infection in HIV-seropositive individuals (2011)
- Antiretroviral Treatment of HIV-2 Positive Individuals (2010)
- Management of co-infection with HIV-1 and hepatitis B or C virus (2010)
(Click here to participate in the E-Learning Module) - UK Guidelines for the management of sexual and reproductive health of people living with HIV infection (2008)
BHIVA also publish position statements on aspects of HIV.
Guidelines produced by other organisations
EAGA guidance on HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)
The BHIVA website includes a sections for archive guidelines.
European guidelines (EACS)
The European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) produces guidelines on five aspects of HIV management.
- Routine assessment and monitoring
- ARV treatment
- Management of complications both from HIV and side effects from ARVs
- Co-infection with HBV and/or HCV
- Opportunistic Infections (OIs)
The January 2017 guidelines (version 8.1) are published as a single booklet PDF file.
The next update is planned for October 2017.
The full guidelines are also online, including important resources and tables that were not included in the print version.
Translations are available, including in French, Greek, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.
PENTA guidelines
The Paediatric Network for Treatment of AIDS (PENTA-ID) produce guidelines for antitretrovial treatment in children.
The 2016 guidelines are available from this page.
US guidelines (DHHS)
The US National Institute for Health (NIH) Department of Health and Human Sciences (DHHS) produce the following national guidelines. Regular updates (at least twice a year) and changes to previous versions are very helpfully highlighted in yellow.
Links are to download pages for each publication on aidsinfo.nih.gov guidelines page.
- Adult and adolescent guidelines
- Perinatal guidelines
- Paediatric guidelines
- Prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections
- Prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections in children
World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines
The WHO produces over 40 guidelines on different aspects of HIV treatment, testing and care.
The most recent guidelines on HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations was in July 2016.
