HIV/AIDS Flashcards
when does HIV become “AIDs”?
CD4 count below 200/ mm3 : when Opportunistic infections come about is “AIDS-defining illness”
what are two ways that we Dx HIV?
HIV infection by ELISA (enzyme assay for antibodies) and then confirmatory Western blot
Viral load calculated by PCR, in copies/ mm3 (mm3 = microliter, or ul)
3 stages of HIV/AIDs
Acute retroviral syndrome
Asymptomatic stage
Symptomatic stage (AIDS): Opportunistic infections (primary and reactivation)
what is the median duration of the asymptomatic stage?
10 years
what is going on with the virus during the asymptomatic stage? What about symptomatic? (weeds)
asymp: undergoing replication
symptoms: enough insult to the immune system to see an effect
when are the peak levels for viral load?
peak: around 2-4 wks after HIV exposure (acute syndrome)
drops down: for 8-10 years (latency)
peak: 12 -13 years post-exposure (overt AIDS)
when are the drops for CD4 counts?
drop: around 2-4wks after HIV exposure (acute syndrome)
rise: 8-10 years (latency)
drop: 12-13 years post-exposure (overt AIDS)
transmission of HIV
via infected body fluids
excludes tears, aerosoles, saliva, GI contents
Studies of vertical HIV transmission:
~__% with no treatment (untreated HIV mom to baby), but
___ % with ____ monotherapy
30% no treatment
<10% with AZT (zidovudine) monotherapy
current therapy for vertical treatment of HIV? no breastfeeding reduces risk to < __%.
Current therapy: “triple therapy” (multidrug therapy)
no breastfeeding reduces risk to <1%
HIV is a ___ virus. with a ___ envelope and _____ on the surface
RNA, lipid envelope, glycoproteins (gps)
____ binds to T-helper cell CD4 receptor for attack
_______ are required for successful infection (weeds)
gp 120 (glycoprotien) coreceptors.
what are the coreceptors required for successful transmission of HIV ? What about those individuals who lack these?
CCR5 and CXCR4 (CCR5 for initial infection);
rare individuals who lack CCR5 can be exposed but are not infected
4 parts of HIV replication cycle
- Receptor binding
- Reverse transcriptase (RNA DNA) by incorporating nucleosides
- Integrase incorporates into host DNA
- Protease is necessary to cleave viral proteins into structural peptides to produce new viral particles
if infected with HIV, one of three things can happen to CD4+ T cell. what are they?
- Replicate and fuse with cellular DNA or
- Cell death (apoptosis) or
- Virus sits in cell in latent state
what is a significant “other” type of cell that HIV virus can directly infect (other than T cells) and what can it cause?
Brain –> encephalitis
Always check for all the ___ you can think of for a person who has a single STI
STIs
Coinfection with Hep B, C, syphilis or other STI appears to make HIV infection more _______and ________
Coinfection appears to make HIV infection more efficient and progression more severe
much more aggressive course of TB infection if the patient has ___ as well.
HIV
Pearl: if a patient has current complaints of more than one distinct kind of ______ _____ or _______, be suspicious of HIV
Also be suspicious with _______ or ________
skin complaint or infection
widespread MRSA furuncles or boils
CDC recommends routine HIV screening for all persons ___ to ____ years of age in the United States. what is the “philosophy” for this testing.
13- 64
“Opt out”, rather than “opt in” philosophy for testing
- Minimally, if you test for any STD, include HIV in the test
Lab testing for HIV:
- order HIV test, will include _____ and if this is positive, will do confirmatory _____.
- Also if positive, Then need to do _____ and _____.
- _____ ______ (also helpful)
- if all positive…. what do you do?
- Order HIV test, will include a preliminary ELISA, and if positive, lab will do confirmatory Western blot
- May be indeterminate on WB - If positive, will need to do genotyping and phenotyping as a guide to retroviral therapy (some mutations confer resistance to specific drugs)
- viral load
- Time to call in the experts if positive– REFER!
acute HIV illness presentation
presents like any other acute viral illness
Clinical presentation for more advanced HIV: what three things should you note?
dementia, wasting, NOTICE opportunistic infections!
AIDS = HIV infection plus..
CD4+ count <200
or
Presence of an opportunistic infection
two major opportunistic infection types to note
candidiasis and lung infections (like pnuemocystic pneumonia (PCP) and toxoplasmosis)
what is the most common presentation of lung infection in AIDS Symptoms?
Pneumocystis jiroveci (PCP): (dyspnea, cyanosis, rales etc)
how do you Dx PCP?
induced sputum or bronchial lavage
txt for pcp
Treatment (21 days): Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim)