AS Europe last week approved for the first time the use of a 鈥減rotease
inhibitor鈥�, ritonavir, to treat HIV, doctors received warnings that such drugs
might cause spontaneous bleeding in haemophiliacs.
Haemophiliacs are one of the groups hardest hit by the HIV epidemic in the
West. Many receive protease inhibitors in combination with older drugs such as
AZT (鈥淗ype, hope and HIV鈥�, New 杏吧原创, 3 August, p 28).
The US Food and Drug Administration and the British Medicines Control Agency
have alerted doctors to the possible risk following around 15 incidents in which
HIV-positive haemophiliacs, who received protease inhibitors on a
鈥渃ompassionate鈥� basis, began bleeding spontaneously.
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So far all the cases have been in Europe, including a recent incident at a
London hospital.
The authorities stress that the link between the bleeding incidents and
protease inhibitors is not proven, and the FDA has told doctors they 鈥渟hould not
hesitate to initiate therapy with these drugs鈥�.