Is Lopinavir Safe in Breastfeeding

I am a breastfeeding mother and i want to know if it is safe to use Lopinavir? Is Lopinavir safe for nursing mother and child? Does Lopinavir extracts into breast milk? Does Lopinavir has any long term or short term side effects on infants? Can Lopinavir influence milk supply or can Lopinavir decrease milk supply in lactating mothers?

In the United States and other developed countries, HIV-infected mothers should generally not breastfeed their infants. Lopinavir has been well studied during breastfeeding. In countries in which no acceptable, feasible, sustainable and safe replacement feeding is available, World Health Organization guidelines recommend that all women with an HIV infection who are pregnant or breastfeeding should be maintained on antiretroviral therapy for at least the duration of risk for mother-to-child transmission. Mothers should exclusively breastfeed their infants for the first 6 months of life; breastfeeding with complementary feeding should continue through at least 12 months of life up to 24 months of life.[1] The first choice regimen for nursing mothers is tenofovir, efavirenz and either lamivudine or emtricitabine. If these drugs are unavailable, alternative regimens include: 1) zidovudine, lamivudine and efavirenz; 2) zidovudine, lamivudine and nevirapine; or 3) tenofovir, nevirapine and either lamivudine or emtricitabine. Exclusively breastfed infants should also receive 6 weeks of prophylaxis with nevirapine.[2][3]

A study compared the rates of severe anemia in 3 groups of infants who received postpartum prophylaxis with zidovudine for prevention of maternal-to-child transmission of HIV infection. Through 6 months of age, breastfed infants whose mothers received HAART had a higher rate of severe anemia (7.4%) than breastfed infants whose mothers received only zidovudine (5.3%). Formula-fed infants had the lowest rate of severe anemia (2.5%). The anemia generally responded well to iron and multivitamin supplementation, and discontinuation of zidovudine.[11] An unblinded study in Uganda compared the outcomes of breastfed infants and their HIV-positive mothers who were randomized to receive antiretrovial therapy that was based either on efavirenz 600 mg once daily or lopinavir 400 mg plus ritonavir 100 mg twice daily during breastfeeding. All mothers received lamivudine 150 mg, zidovudine 300 mg twice daily and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole once daily. All infants received prophylaxis with either zidovudine for 1 week or nevirapine for 6 weeks, plus trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole from 6 weeks of age to 6 weeks after weaning. Almost all of the infants were exclusively breastfed until 6 months of age and about 73% were partially breastfed until 12 months of age. There was no statistical difference in hospitalizations or adverse events including anemia, neutropenia or deaths among infants in the two groups.[12] Among 9 breastfed (extent not stated) infants whose mothers were taking lopinavir 400 mg with ritonavir 100 mg twice daily as part of a multi-drug treatment for HIV infection, no adverse effects were noted by investigators or reported by mothers at 1, 3 and 6 months of age.[9]

Gynecomastia has been reported among men receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy. Gynecomastia is unilateral initially, but progresses to bilateral in about half of cases. No alterations in serum prolactin were noted and spontaneous resolution usually occurred within one year, even with continuation of the regimen.[13][14][15] Some case reports and in vitro studies have suggested that protease inhibitors might cause hyperprolactinemia and galactorrhea in some male patients,[16][17] although this has been disputed.[18] The relevance of these findings to nursing mothers is not known. The prolactin level in a mother with established lactation may not affect her ability to breastfeed.