Being treatment-naive means that an individual has not yet received any treatment for a particular condition. A treatment-naive person who is HIV-positive, for example, is someone who has not started anti-retroviral therapy. The term “naive” can also be paired with a particular drug to identify a patient who has not received treatment with that particular drug (or class of drugs). Someone with major depression who is SSRI-naive, for example, has not taken any selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), though they may have taken a different antidepressant. Someone who is “antipsychotic-naive” has not taken any antipsychotics, but they may have taken something else to treat psychosis. Naive can refer to non-medication interventions as well, but it’s most often used with drugs or an overall treatment regimen (drugs plus another intervention, such as psychotherapy for mental health conditions).
