Table 2. Randomized clinical trials of early versus deferred initiation of antiretroviral therapy during treatment for opportunistic infections.

Study (year), country	Opportunistic infection	Details	Main results	IRIS events (%)		Ref.
				Early arm	Deferred arm
Zolopa (2009), Multi-country	Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (63%) Serious bacterial infections (12%) Cryptococcal meningitis (12%) Miscellaneous (13%)	ART started within 14 days (median 12 days) vs ART after completing OI treatment (median 45 days)	Early ART reduced risk of AIDS progression/death (OR:0.51; 95% CI: 0.27–0.94)	5.7	8.5	[128]
Abdool Karim et al. (2010), South Africa	Smear-positive pulmonary TB	ART started during frst 3 months of TB treatment vs after completion of TB treatment CD4 count 0–500 cells/μl	Mortality reduced in early arm (HR: 0.44)	12.4	3.8	[19]
Blanc et al. (2010), Cambodia	Smear-positive pulmonary or extrapulmonary TB	ART started 2 weeks after starting TB treatment vs 2 months CD4 counts <200 cells/μl	Mortality higher in 2-month arm Adjusted HR: 1.52	33	15	[18]
Torok et al. (2009), Vietnam	Tuberculous meningitis	Immediate ART at start of TB treatment vs after 2 months	No signifcant difference in mortality but more adverse events in immediate arm	Not assessed		[129]
Makadzange et al. (2010), Zimbabwe	Cryptococcal meningitis	ART started within 72 h of diagnosis vs after 10 weeks Patients treated with fuconazole	3-year cumulative mortality 88% in early arm vs 54% in delayed arm (p < 0.006) Adjusted HR: 2.85	Not assessed		[121]

ART: Antiretroviral therapy; HR: Hazard ratio; IRIS: Immune reconstitution infammatory syndrome; OI: Opportunistic infection; OR: Odds ratio.