PERA / PENTA 8

A randomised trial to evaluate the usefulness of resistance testing in the clinical management of children with HIV infection.

Is it useful to give HIV positive children a drug resistance test?

What was this study about?

PERA was the first paediatric trial that ran across the world which aimed to test whether it is useful to do a test to show whether or not a child has resistance to a drug when doctors change the drug treatment that they are on.

What difference did this study make?

It showed that doctors need to know more about resistance testing before they can plan how best to use them. The information collected from this trial will help researchers to understand more about resistance tests.

Type of study

Randomised trial

Contact details

enquiries@ctu.mrc.ac.uk

Who funded the study?

The trial was funded by the European Commission through PENTA (Paediatric European Network for the Treatment of AIDS) and by the Medical Research Council.

When did it take place?

This trial recruited patients between June 2000 and July 2003. The results of the trial were published in the journal Antiviral Therapy in 2006.

Where did it take place?

The study was conducted in 24 different clinical centres and 6 different countries (Italy, Brazil, UK, Spain, Germany and Portugal).

Who was included?

171 children, aged 3 months to 18 years, were enrolled.