Post exposure prophylaxis for HIV should be given for a minimum period of: March 2005

Ans. A: 4 weeks PEP should normally be continued for 4 weeks. This time course, or the drugs used may need to be modified if problems of tolerance and/or toxicity are encountered .Since nausea is a common problem, the prescription of prophylactic anti-emetics should be considered. Anti-motility drugs may be helpful if diarrhoea develops - a common side effect of nelfinavir. A combination of two nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors for less severe exposures and combination of two nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors and a 3rd drug for severe exposures.