1. A nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) used as an antiretroviral medication in the treatment of HIV infection.
Usage: medical; pharmaceutical; often abbreviated as ddI

Examples

• Didanosine was one of the early antiretroviral drugs approved for HIV treatment.
• The patient's regimen included didanosine combined with other antiretroviral agents.
• Didanosine works by inhibiting reverse transcriptase, an enzyme essential for HIV replication.
• Healthcare providers must monitor patients taking didanosine for potential side effects.
• The development of didanosine represented an important advance in HIV therapy during the 1990s.