[Prevention of MAI infections in AIDS with Ansatipine: experience at a hospital. From an interview with Dr. Jean-Luc Meynard].
Nowadays, infections by the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) have become amongst the most frequent of the opportunistic bacterial infections in AIDS, following the introduction of prophylaxis to pneumocystosis and toxoplasmosis. MAC infections are recognised as a serious pathology that quickly causes hidden conditions then death of the patient after a short time and so there is need for an effective prophylaxis. In this context, rifabutine (Ansatipine) fills the therapeutic gap and is needed by both practitioners and patients who are affected by these serious infections. For several months, the AIDS committee of the Hôpital Saint-Antoine in Paris has advised the systematic introduction of prophylactic treatment by Ansatipine, after proper prescriptive indications, for HIV patients both in hospital and in outside consultations. Retrospective analysis after 2 1/2 months of a population sample of 32 patients, mostly non hospitalised but followed by the Service of Infectious Diseases of the hospital and receiving Ansatipine, showed no documented infection by MAC in the patients whose quality of life was very satisfactory. Furthermore, the prophylactic treatment was well-tolerated without any withdrawals. Today, distribution of Ansatipine to town pharmacies can only improve the lives of patients and encourage practitioners to profit from a treatment of indisputable benefit.