KI: Interaction between artemether-lumefantrine and nevirapine-based antiretroviral therapy in HIV-1-infected patients. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2011, 55:5616–5623.34

Artemether-lumefantrine and nevirapine-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) are the most commonly rec-ommended first-line treatments for malaria and HIV, respectively, in Africa. Artemether, lumefantrine, and nevirapine are metabolized by the cytochrome P450 3A4 enzyme system, which nevirapine induces, creating potential for important drug interactions. In a parallel-design pharmacokinetic study, concentration-time profiles were obtained in two groups of HIV-infected patients: ART-naïve patients and those stable on nevirapine-based therapy. Both groups received the recommended artemether-lumefantrine dose. Patients were admitted for intense pharmacokinetic sampling (0 to 72 h) with outpatient sampling until 21 days. Concentrations of lumefantrine, artemether, dihydroartemisinin, and nevirapine were determined by validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods. The primary outcome was observed day 7 lumefantrine concentrations, as these are associated with therapeutic response in malaria. We enrolled 36 patients (32 females). Median (range) day 7 lumefantrine concentrations were 622 ng/ml (185 to 2,040 ng/ml) and 336 ng/ml (29 to 934 ng/ml) in the nevirapine and ART-naïve groups, respectively (P 0.0002). The median artemether area under the plasma concentration-time curve from 0 to 8 h [AUC(0-8 h)] (P < 0.0001) and dihydroartemisinin AUC(60-68 h) (P 0.01) were lower in the nevirapine group. Combined artemether an