Study says benefits from HIV drug tied to birth defects can outweigh risks

The WHO does not recommend its first-line HIV treatment for childbearing women because of the risk for birth defects, but a new studysuggests the drug could result in fewer HIV deaths overall. Looking at women with HIV in South Africa, the researchers found that dolutegravir prevented 13,700 deaths and 57,700 new transmissions, compared to 4,900 deaths and 20,500 new transmissions from efavirenz, the WHO’s recommendation as a safe and effective alternative. Although dolutegravir resulted in more pediatric deaths than the alternative, the authors say the results “argue against a blanket policy” of favoring one drug over the other, and instead support a discussion “about the tradeoffs between the risks for harm and the benefits of these treatment options.”