<Emphasis Type="Bold">Background: Abacavir sulfate (abacavir) is associated with a hypersensitivity reaction (HSR) that affects 5–8% of patients. While serious complications are rare, failure to identify it, or abacavir re-challenge following HSR, can be fatal. Genetic screening for HLA-B*5701 can identify patients...</emphasis>

Patients with HCV infection indicate a willingness to accept an increased risk of side effects for sufficient improvement in the likelihood of treatment response. </AbstractSection> Copyright Springer International Publishing AG 2012

For many treatments, a patient’s prognosis may be refined by conducting a mid-therapy assessment (MTA). When therapy lasts some time, an MTA predicts a patient’s ultimate outcome based on early signs of response. The availability and timing of such assessments also serve as a mechanism by...