Combination therapy

Combination therapy treats a condition with two or more medicines at the same time. It can improve effectiveness, limit resistance, or address multiple disease processes, but may increase toxicity and interactions.

Synergism: An interaction in which combined agents produce a greater effect than expected from their separate effects. Synergistic medicines can make a combination more effective than either medicine alone.
Antiretroviral therapy: Treatment of HIV infection with medicines that inhibit viral replication. Multiple antiretroviral medicines suppress HIV while reducing the chance of resistance.
Monotherapy: Treatment of a condition with one medicine at a time. It is the direct alternative when a single medicine can provide adequate control.
Antimicrobial resistance: The ability of microorganisms to survive or grow despite exposure to medicines that once inhibited them. Some antimicrobial combinations suppress resistant populations; inappropriate use can also select resistance.
Antagonism: An interaction in which one agent reduces or blocks another agent’s effect. Antagonistic medicines can make a combination less effective than its components.
Combination chemotherapy: Cancer treatment using multiple anticancer medicines, often with different mechanisms or toxicities. Cancer regimens combine drugs to attack tumors through distinct mechanisms.
Sequential therapy: A treatment strategy that gives different medicines in sequence rather than simultaneously. Sequential use differs from combination therapy in timing and exposure.
Adverse drug reaction: A harmful, unintended response to a medicine used at a usual dose. More medicines can increase the number and severity of possible treatment harms.
Pharmacokinetic interaction: An interaction in which one medicine changes another’s absorption, distribution, metabolism, or elimination. One component can alter the concentration of another, changing benefit or toxicity.
Antibiotic combination therapy: Treatment with two or more antibiotics, used for selected infections or clinical circumstances. Antibiotics may be combined to broaden coverage, achieve synergy, or address resistance.

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