HIV-infection in children progresses more rapidly than in adults, and up to half of untreated children die within the 1st two years of life. This progression is correlated with higher viral burden and faster depletion of infected CD4 lymphocytes in infants and children than in adults. Most studies have demonstrated that CD4 cell count has the strongest predictive value in predicting disease progression. Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has shown reduction in circulating viral load and improvement in CD4 counts. Fixed drug combination (FDC) promote better adherence and tend to be cost effective. Stavudine is better tolerated than Zidovudine and does not require haemoglobin monitoring. Among the NRTI (nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor), d4T (Stavudine) has been most often associated with lipodystrophy and lactic acidosis. In addition, peripheral neuropathy, elevated hepatic transaminases and pancreatitis have been observed. Significant information has been accumulated in regard to predicting the potential for disease progression in HIV infected children. Studies have demonstrated that CD4 count is highly predictive of disease progression. However, despite this information collected from both developed and developing countries, guidelines for treating young infants and children are not clear because of significant variability in disease outcome. This study was undertaken to study the effectiveness of Stavudine based Fixed Drug Combination (FDC) with respect to effect on CD4 counts in HIV infected children and clinical response to Stavudine based FDC.

Keywords: HIV, CD4 count, Stavudine