Miscellaneous

Question 1

Give some side effects of chemotherapy

Answer 1

Hair loss
Fatigue
Nausea/vomiting
Sex and fertility problems
Emotional problems, e.g. anxiety, depression

Question 2

Give some side effects of radiotherapy

Answer 2

Sore skin
Fatigue
Nausea and vomiting
Sex and fertility problems
Emotional problems, e.g. anxiety, depression

Question 3

Give some risk factors for contracting HIV

Answer 3

• Multiple sexual partners
• Unprotected sex
• Men who have sex with men (MSM)
• IVDUs

Question 4

What kind of cell is HIV able to infect?

Answer 4

CD4+ T helper cells

Question 5

Describe the initial symptoms and signs when a person has just been infected with HIV

Answer 5

Symptoms:

• Fever
• Myalgia
• Fatigue
• Pharyngitis

Signs:
- Maculopapuar rash

These symptoms will last a few weeks, and will be followed by complete clinical recovery (latency period = asymptomatic) - however some people have persistent lymphadenopathy

Question 6

Describe the symptoms of late stage HIV (after latency period)

Answer 6

• Night sweats
• Diarrhoea
• Weight loss
• Minor opportunistic infections, e.g. oral candida, recurrent herpes simplex

Question 7

How is AIDS defined?

Answer 7

AIDS-defining illness, e.g. Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia, Kaposi’s sarcoma, candidiasis, toxoplasmosis

OR

CD4+ cell count < 200 x 10^6/L

Question 8

Describe the investigation of HIV

Answer 8

Serum/salivary HIV antibody testing (ELISA test)

Question 9

Describe the management of HIV - what is it? What is the aim of this treatment? Give some examples of drugs classes used

Answer 9

• Highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART)
• Combination of several different classes of anti-retrovirals (typically three or four) –> different classes work at different stages of HIV life cycle
• Aims to suppress serum HIV concentration to below detectable level in order to restore immune function - does not cure, but slows progression

Examples:

• Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs)
• Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs)
• Protease inhibitors (PIs)
• Integrase strand transferase inhibitors (InSTIs)