HIV Flashcards
What should haen in a test for HIV?
- You need consent to test for HIV unless they are unable to
- You just need verbal consent
- The person who orders the blood sample is the one who tends to deliver the result
What are the CD4 counts for the stages of HIV?
- CD4 count of 500 is normal
- 350 is when people start to take treatment
- 200 is when it is severe (AIDS)
How long does it usually take (without treatment) for HIV to become AIDs?
on average 5 years
How long does it usually take (without treament) for AIDs to result in death?
On average 2 years
True or false: Some people never get any symptoms?
True
True or false: death is inevetable in AIDs?
False: It is unlikely but there may be one or two a year who cannot tollerate the treatment?
True or false: In terms of mortality it doesn’t matter when HIV is identified
False: The earlier identification and the earlier treatment is started the lower the mortality (the mortality of the late presenting people is only about 6% now though so it’s not too high)
What is primary HIV?
- Looks like glandular fever
- If it looks like glandular fever or an acute viral infection but the diagnosis is not supported by serology then look for HIV
What happens in HIV treatment?
- Side effects can be a bit troublesome but they are getting better as the drugs are being refined
- Eliminate the risk of vertical transmission with HIV drugs in pregnant women (before the third trimester) if you do this then you can have a normal birth if the viral levels are undetectable
- Adherence is very important
What are the consequences of HIV
Patients seem to age a lot faster than other people
What are the 4 grous of HIV1
- M, N, O, P
- The main group is HIV1 group M
- Group M as a lot of sub groups
Why is exposure history important?
they could be in the window period which results in false negative results (1 months but to be on the safe side it is better to give it 2 months)
What does avidity mean?
how far back that the infection was (high avidity means that the infection was months ago but low avidity means it is very serious)