Concern over overlapping toxicities, pill burden, and drug interactions led some clinicians to delay ART initiation in patients with AIDS-related OI. This study demonstrates that initiating early ART is beneficial.
282 patients with CD4 <200 and AIDs-related OI or severe bacterial infection randomized to early ART within 14 days or deferred ART that started after 4 weeks. Improved AIDs illnesses or deaths. The study population consisted predominantly of patients with Pneumocystis pneumonia (63%), cryptococcal meningitis (12%), and AIDS-associated bacterial infections (12%).

The actual timing of when ARTs were started was 12 vs 45 days, which argues for starting ARTs within 2 weeks and not immediately.
No difference in the occurrence of IRIS (6 vs 9%).
Keywords:
#Early #HIV #Opportunistic infections #Retroviral Therapy #ART #pneumocystis #OI #HAART #Mortality
Reference:
Early Antiretroviral Therapy Reduces AIDS Progression/ Death in Individuals with Acute Opportunistic Infections: A Multicenter Randomized Strategy Trial – Zolopa AR, Andersen J, Komarow L, Sanne I, Sanchez A, et al. PLoS ONE 2009 4(5): e5575.