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Antiretroviral therapy — DFSRH MCQ

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HardPharmacologyAntiretroviral therapyDFSRH

A patient living with HIV takes antiretroviral therapy but cannot name the medicines. She requests hormonal contraception today. What is the safest next step?

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Correct answer: C — Confirm the ART regimen and check method-specific interactions

The best answer is “Confirm the ART regimen and check method-specific interactions”. HIV itself does not prohibit hormonal contraception, but enzyme-inducing or inhibiting antiretrovirals can alter exposure to contraceptive steroids, and hormonal methods may affect some medicines. The drug names must therefore be confirmed and checked against a current interaction resource before selecting a method. Condoms remain valuable for STI prevention but need not be the sole pregnancy-prevention option.

Reference: CoSRH/FSRH, Drug Interactions with Hormonal Contraception (May 2022): https://www.cosrh.org/Common/Uploaded%20files/documents/drug-interactions-with-hormonal-contraception-5may2022.pdf