Acute Care in HIV
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Introduction[edit | edit source]
HIV infection is increasingly regarded as a chronic disease. As such, there is a high prevalence of disability among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Although only a minority of rehabilitation professionals work with PLWHA, the rehabilitation professional community has the potential to play a greater role in addressing HIV/AIDS disability. The majority of PLWHA admitted to acute-care hospitals have at least one impairment, limited activities, and some level of participation restriction, requiring a physical therapist examination.[1]
Clinical signs of HIV infection[edit | edit source]
The most frequent signs and symptoms are[2]:
- fever, headache, malaise, cough, and lymphadenopathy
- Kaposi lesions (painless dark or purple lumps on skin or palate)
- Severe bacterial infection—pneumonia or muscle infection
- Tuberculosis—pulmonary or extrapulmonary
- Oral thrush or oral hairy leukoplakia
- Gum/mouth ulcers
- Oesophageal thrush
- Weight loss more than 10 % without other explanation
- More than 1 month: — Diarrhoea (unexplained) — Vaginal candidiasis — Unexplained fever — Herpes simplex ulceration (genital or oral)
- Neurological involvement: including aseptic meningitis, encephalitis, and facial nerve paresis.
Management[edit | edit source]
Acute care management of people with HIV infection requires a model of care that begins with a comprehensive screen of a patient’s risk of morbidity and mortality. Rehabilitation professionals are uniquely suited to play an expanding and significant role in identifying and addressing the physical impairments and functional limitations of this population, thereby maximizing quality of life
Resources[edit | edit source]
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References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Kinirons SA, Do S. The acute care physical therapy HIV/AIDS patient population: A descriptive study. Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (JIAPAC). 2015 Jan;14(1):53-63.
- ↑ Henn A, Flateau C, Gallien S. Primary HIV infection: clinical presentation, testing, and treatment. Current infectious disease reports. 2017 Oct;19(10):1-0.
