What is meant by metabolic complications of antiretroviral therapy (ART)?
Metabolic complications refers to a group of adverse drug reactions that have been associated with long-term use of antiretroviral drugs, which include: • Lipid abnormalities • Lipodystrophy • Lactic acidosis • Hyperglycemia • Decreased bone mineral density Each adverse reaction is more commonly associated with a specific class of antiretroviral drugs, and the agents within the class that cause the reactions do so with variable frequencies. In most cases, the pathophysiologic mechanism of the changes is unknown. The classes of drugs associated with each major adverse reaction are listed in Table 6-1.
