This case study of 2 patients suggests that very early antiretroviral therapy is not enough to prevent formation of latent viral reservoirs and prevent HIV rebound on treatment discontinuation.
Research supports liver and kidney transplantation in patients with HIV infection, but referral rates are low.
A 33-year-old man from the Ivory Coast (who had been living in the United States for the past 8 years) received a diagnosis of AIDS when he presented with Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia. His CD4+ cell count was 6/µL, and his HIV RNA level was 575,000 copies/mL. He also presented with altered sensorium and seizure activity and was found to have obstructive hydrocephalus and ring-enhancing lesions in both cerebellar hemispheres and basal ganglia. Results of polymerase chain reaction testing of cerebrospinal fluid for Toxoplasma gondii were positive, and treatment for toxoplasmosis was started. A ventricular-peritoneal shunt was placed.
Cutaneous manifestations of immune recovery in response to highly active antiretroviral therapy may account for up to 54% to 78% of the clinical presentations of the immune reconstitution syndrome (IRS)
Patients with HIV infection are at increased risk for several types of malignancy. After Kaposi sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is the second most common HIV-associated cancer.1
In a recent AIDS Reader editorial, Joel E. Gallant called for clinicians who treat persons with HIV/AIDS to “become vocal advocates for routine HIV screening,
Pain is recognized as a significant disability in HIV-infected persons.