Oppurtunistic Infections Flashcards
What is an opportunistic infection?
A microorganism that is usually harmless but can become pathogenic when the host’s resistance to disease is impaired.
- It can be any microorganism: virus, parasite, fungus or bacteria
WHO Clinical HIV staging?
HIV-related diseases are grouped into 4 WHO clinical stages that correlate with disease progression and prognosis of survival:
Stage 1: Asymptomatic
Stage 2: Mild
Stage 3: Advanced
Stage 4: Severe
HIV Complications?
- Problems of the oral cavity
- GI problems
- Skin problems
- STDs
- Pulmonary problems
- Neurological problems
- Malignancies
Oral cavity oppurtunistic infections?
- hairy leukoplakia
- oral (pharyngeal) candidiasis
- aphthous ulcers
- necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis
- oral herpes simplex
- KS lesions
Oral hairy leukoplakia?
- Typical on the side of the tong, hairy appearance
- Ebstein Bar Virus (EBV) related
- Permanent, you can’t remove the patches with a toothbrush
- Not painful
- Malignant transformation rates of oral leukoplakia range from 0.13 to 17.5%
- Treatment: HIV suppression with ARVs
Oral pharyngeal candidiasis?
- Infection with the fungus Candida albicans accumulating in the mouth
- Multiple white or reddish patches in mouth
- Painful, burning of nature
Can be (partly) scraped off the tong - Difficulty swallowing (suggests pharyngeal spread)
- Management : nystatin, fluconazole
Apthous ulcers?
- Painful ulcers
- Can be anywhere in the mouth
- Can even cause 2nd nutritional problems due to pain
- Management: topical lignocaine, HIV suppresion with ARVs
Necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis?
- Sudden onset of inflammation, pain, and the presence of “punched-out” crater-like lesions of the papillary gums
- Gums bleed easily
- Management: antibiotics in severe cases (clindamycin, augmentin)
Oral herpes simplex?
- HSV infections are common in people who have HIV
- Mostly recurrent
- Cause painful sores.
- HSV-1 typically causes sores on or near the mouth
- Management: Acyclovir and ARV
KS lesions?
- Cancer that causes patches of abnormal tissue to grow on the palate
- Be aware of other places!
- These patches, or lesions, are usually red or purple.
- Management: HIV suppression with ARV, chemotherapy
Causes of dysphagia in HIV?
- Candidia infection of oesophagus
- Herpes simplex infection
- CMV-infection
- Malignant cause: KS or carcinoma
Diagnosis of esophageal complications?
- Abnormality in oral cavity present: same abnormality can be present in esophagus
- Oral cavity normal: if available: endoscopy, if endoscopy not possible consider treatment for candida esophagitis
– Fluconazole 200mg od/14 days (particularly with CD4<200)
Common pathogens and their treatment in chronic diarrhea?
- Giardia, E.histolytica - metronidazol
- Cryptosporidium - HAART
- Microsporidium - HAART
- Isospora belli - CTX
- Salmonella – Ciproxin (dysenteria, fever)
Treatment of chronic diarrhea?
Confirm VL suppression, do targeted CD4
Based on response to stepwise empirical treatment:
1. Treat isospora, cyclospora, bacterial Cotrimoxazol 960mg BD 7/7
2. Treat giardia, clostridium, amoeba, microsporidium Metronidazol 750mg TDS 7/7
3. Treat microsporidium, helminths Albendazol 400 mg BD 6/12
Skin complications and treatment?
- Seborrheic eczema: miconazole/ketoconazole creme/lotion
- Pruritic rash: complication of HIV-infection in untreated patient or complication of ARV
- Herpes simplex: in HIV HSV can be recurrent
- H. zoster: can be multidermal and more severe, treatment: acyclovir/valaciclovir, treatment for neuralgia
- General treatment: HIV suppression with ARVs!!
STD complications?
More chronic, more severe
1. Herpes simplex and genital warts: often chronic
2. Gonorrhoea, chlamydia: certain subtypes can cause lymphogranuloma venerum - with inguinal nodes and need for prolonged treatment)
3. Syphilis: with HIV more often neurosyphilis!
Genital warts?
- Caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) creating small, painless bumps in the genital region
- Untreated, may develop a fleshy, cauliflower-like appearance.
- Genital warts may cause cervical cancers and other genital cancers.
- Management: Can be treated topically(applied to skin), freezing, or surgical removal
HPV vaccination?
- After 5 year sexual intercourse 98% seropositivity for HPV- 16/18 antibodies, so: vaccination should start around age of 12
- Already implemented in many industrialized countries (at the age of 12 years )
- Decrease of incidence of cervix carcinoma can be realized
Pulmonary complications?
- Bacterial pneumonias (most common: Str. Pneumoniae, but be aware of atypicals)
- TB
- PJP, viral- and other infections like fungus
Difficulty in diagnosis of PJP?
- Bronchoscopy in general not available
- Diagnosis is a clinical diagnosis
- “exclusion of other causes”