HIV Prophylaxis
AZT is used as post-exposure prophylaxis in combination with another antiretroviral, Lamivudine, substantially reducing the risk of HIV infection following the first single exposure to the virus (such as a needle-stick injury involving blood or body fluids from an individual known or suspected of being infected with HIV).
AZT is now a principal part of the clinical pathway for both pre-exposure prophylaxis and post-exposure treatment of mother-to-child transmission of HIV during pregnancy, labor, and delivery and has been proven to be integral to uninfected siblings' perinatal and neonatal development. Without AZT, as many as 10 to 15% of fetuses with HIV-infected mothers will themselves become infected. AZT has been shown to reduce this risk to as little as 8% when given in a three-part regimen post-conception, delivery, and six weeks post-delivery. Consistent and proactive precautionary measures, such as the rigorous use of antiretroviral medications, cesarean section, face masks, heavy-duty rubber gloves, clinically-segregated disposable diapers, and avoidance of mouth contact and breast feeding will further reduce child-attendant transmission of HIV to as little as 1–2%. However, a new study now indicates that HIV+ mothers not taking antiretrovirals who breastfeed their children will help prevent HIV transmission to their infants.
During the period from 1994 to 1999 when this was the primary form of prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, AZT prophylaxis prevented more than 1000 parental and infant deaths from AIDS in the United States.
Read more about this topic: Zidovudine