Antiretroviral HIV therapy and hormonal contraceptives

: HIV guidelines recommend assessment of conception issues for all people living with HIV. Studies have shown negligible risk of HIV transmission from well-treated patients with HIV, and therefore condoms are no longer recom-mended to reduce HIV transmission. Some antiretroviral agents are metabolised through the same enzyme systems in the liver as hormonal contraceptives, which can affect the plasma concentration of both drug classes and the effect of the drugs, including reduced contraceptive efficacy. This review discusses the interactions between antiretroviral agents and hormonal contraceptives.