HIV Flashcards
If there is no treatment, how long is the period from diagnosis to death?
15 years, but it’ll be 8 years until the patient shows signs of rare infections and cancers
What fraction of people with HIV are unaware that they have it?
1 in 4
In which situations is routine testing of HIV necessary?
- Pregnancy
- GUM clinic
- If HIV prevalance exceeds 2/1000 local population
- Healthcare services for those with TB, HBV, HCV and lymphoma
How is HIV treated in pregnancy?
Antiretrovirals to both mother and baby
What are the consequences of HIV?
- Opportunistic infections
- Malignancy (Karposis sarcoma, rectal cancer)
- Direct effect of HIV itself (kidney, CNS damage)
What is the natural history of untreated HIV infection (5 stages)?
- Primary infection (high VL, fall in CD4 count)
- Early stage (CD4>500) usually asymptomatic
- Middle stage (CD4 200-500)
- Advanced stage (CD4 50-200) AIDS, develops aids defining illnesses
- Late stage (CD4<50)
Name some AIDS defining illnesses?
PCP, Kaposi’s sarcoma, lymphomas, mycobacterium avium complex, TB, cervical cancer, CMV, oral candidiasis, leukoplakia (EBV)
What is HAART?
Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (for life) uses at least 3 drugs from at least 2 groups:
- Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors
- Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors
- Protease inhibitors
- Integrase inhibitors
If you have HIV, how often if your viral load and CD4 count monitored?
6 monthly
Which sexual activity gives the highest risk of HIV transmission?
Receptive anal
In what window can post-exposure prophylaxis be given for HIV?
72 hours post exposure
- patient should be aware that it could induce vomiting diarrhoea and rash
What type of virus is HIV
ssRNA, retrovirus
What is p24, gp120 and gp41?
p24 - viral protein composing capsid
gp120/41 - Docking and transmembrane glycoproteins
What is a seroconversion illness?
An illness occurring 2-4 weeks post exposure and lasting 1-2 weeks, causing RASH (maculopapular), FEVER and SORE THROAT
What is pneumocystis cairn pneumonia?
A yeastlike fungal micro-organism which commonly causes death in HIV