#15 Safety of HIV medications – Henry Zakumumpa Artwork

Drug Safety Matters

Drug Safety Matters brings you the best stories from the world of pharmacovigilance. Through in-depth interviews with our guests, we cover new research and trends, and explore the most pressing issues in medicines safety today. Produced by Uppsala Monitoring Centre, the WHO Collaborating Centre for International Drug Monitoring.

The views and opinions expressed in the podcast are those of the hosts and guests respectively and, unless otherwise stated, do not represent the position of any institution to which they are affiliated.

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Drug Safety Matters

#15 Safety of HIV medications – Henry Zakumumpa

April 29, 2022 • Uppsala Monitoring Centre

0:00 | 33:19

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With the right care, people infected with HIV can lead long and healthy lives. But as with any life-long medical treatment, it is important to acknowledge and manage any side effects. Henry Zakumumpa from Makerere University School of Public Health tells us about the potential harms of new HIV therapies and the challenges faced by pharmacovigilance specialists in Uganda.

Tune in to find out:

How dolutegravir-based HIV therapies compare to earlier regimens
How pharmacovigilance data can help shape HIV treatment guidelines
Why we should empower patients to share concerns about their healthcare

Want to know more?

Hyperglycemia, insomnia and reduced libido were the most common side effects observed by Ugandan clinicians in patients taking dolutegravir.

Nurses are the backbone of HIV disease management in Uganda and could play an important role in pharmacovigilance activities as well.

Henry Zakumumpa’s research was supported by Uppsala Monitoring Centre in collaboration with CARTA, the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa, which is working to build up research capacity in public health.

The World Health Organization’s resources on HIV/AIDS include easily digestible information for patients, epidemiological data on disease spread, and current guidelines for prevention and treatment.

For more on African and patient-centred pharmacovigilance, check out these episodes from the Drug Safety Matters archive:

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