ABSTRACT
Introduction In 1987, the first drug that could target the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and inhibit its replication cycle was introduced into clinical practice. Known then as AZT but now referred to as zidovudine (ZDV), monotherapy with this drug produced remarkable, if unsustainable, clinical improvements in many patients desperately ill and nearing the end of their lives. This was a significant turning point in HIV management, which heralded the dawn of a new era in which an impressive and expanding range of specific antiretroviral drugs would become available to effectively treat HIV-infected people, at least in the wealthier nations of the world. These drugs have revolutionized the treatment of people with HIV disease and have had a truly remarkable impact on reducing HIVrelated morbidity and mortality.1
