About these Guidelines
These guidelines outline the management of individuals who have been exposed (or suspect they have been exposed) to HIV in non-occupational and occupational settings. There are currently no data from randomised controlled trials of the use of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and evidence for use has been extrapolated from animal data, mother to child transmission, occupational exposure and small prospective studies of PEP regimens in HIV-negative men. Accordingly, assumptions are made about the direction of management.
Every presentation for PEP should be assessed on a case-by-case basis, balancing the potential harms and benefits of treatment.
This second edition of the National PEP guidelines is:
- revised from the first National PEP guidelines released in 2013, which replaced the National guidelines for Non-Occupational Post-Exposure Prophylaxis to HIV (DoH 2006) and the HIV component of the Management of Exposure to Blood/Body Fluids in an Occupational Health Setting, ANCAHRD Bulletin No 29 September 2002
- produced by the Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM)
- available as a website resource at www.pep.guidelines.org.au
- also located at www.ashm.org.au/pep-guidelines
- funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health (DoH)
- to be reviewed regularly through ASHM, for advice to the DoH
- supported by a Literature Review1 and other documents also available at the above websites.
The advice provided is necessarily general. Any unusual or complex presentation should be discussed with an expert in HIV medicine, before deciding whether or not PEP should be prescribed. Specific implementation details in response to regional differences are available through state, territory and local agencies.