acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

n.

AIDS.

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Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)

A group of diseases resulting from infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A person infected with HIV gradually loses immune function, becoming less able to resist aliments and cancers, resulting in eventual death.

Mentioned in: Autopsy

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acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS),

a syndrome involving a defect in cell-mediated immunity that has a long incubation period, follows a protracted and debilitating course, is manifested by various opportunistic infections, and without treatment has a poor prognosis. The disorder originally was found in homosexual men and IV drug users but now occurs increasingly among heterosexual men and women and children of those with the disease. More than 1 million cases of AIDS have appeared in the United States, where in 1993 it was the leading cause of death among men between 25 and 44 years of age and the fourth leading cause of death among women of the same age group. Worldwide, an estimated 25 million had died from the epidemic by the end of 2006, 2.9 million of those in 2006 alone. Approximately 40 million people are estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS, 37.2 million adults and 2.3 million children under the age of 15. The disease is particularly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa.

observations AIDS is caused by either of two varieties of the human immunodeficiency virus, designated HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV is a retrovirus that attracts and kills CD4+ helper T lymphocytes, weakening the immune system's ability to prevent infection. The virus may also invade macrophages, in which it replicates freely, undetected by the immune system. HIV is not spread by casual contact but rather by sexual intercourse or exposure to contaminated blood, semen, breast milk, or other body fluids of infected persons. A patient may be diagnosed as having AIDS if he or she is infected with HIV, has a CD4+ count below 200 to 500/mL, and exhibits one or more of the following signs and symptoms: extreme fatigue, intermittent fever, night sweats, chills, lymphadenopathy, enlarged spleen, anorexia and consequent weight loss, severe diarrhea, apathy, and depression. As the disease progresses, characteristics are a general failure to thrive, anergy, and any of a variety of recurring infections, most commonly Pneumocystis pneumonia, tuberculosis, meningitis, and encephalitis caused by aspergillosis, candidiasis, cryptococcosis, cytomegalovirus infection, toxoplasmosis, or herpes simplex. Some patients with AIDS are susceptible to malignant neoplasms, especially Kaposi's sarcoma, Burkitt's lymphoma, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, that both cause and result from immunodeficiency. Psychologic complications of AIDS may include chronic anxiety, depression, substance dependence, organic mental disorders, and suicidal ideation.

interventions Treatment consists primarily of chronic symptom management and combined chemotherapy to counteract the opportunistic infections. There is no known cure. Drugs used to treat AIDS include reverse transcriptase inhibitors, such as zidovudine and dideoxyinosine, which interfere with the virus' ability to synthesize DNA within host cells, and HIV protease inhibitors, such as ritonavir and indinavir, which cause the production of noninfectious HIV particles. These drugs are given in combinations (often called cocktails); one commonly used combination is made up of two reverse transcriptase inhibitors and a potent HIV protease inhibitor. Vaccines routinely recommended for AIDS include those directed against pneumococcal influenza, hepatitis B, and general childhood infections, as well as infections that may be endemic in countries where the patient may travel, such as typhoid and yellow fever.

nursing considerations Nursing care of the patient with AIDS varies with the patient's symptoms. These may include dyspnea, nutritional wasting, fatigue, pain, and incontinence. Intervention is directed at providing education to prevent the spread of disease and infection, promoting self-care and optimal nutrition, and providing emotional support for patients and their families. Patients with tumors, hematologic abnormalities, and infections require routine treatment for these disorders along with care for their HIV-related complaints. See also AIDS-dementia complex, AIDS-wasting syndrome.

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acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS),

n a disease caused by a retrovirus known as human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). A related but distinct retrovirus (HIV-2) has recently appeared in a limited number of patients in the United States. Patients are considered to have AIDS when one or more indicator diseases, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are present. See also human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The CDC has classified stages of the disease as follows:

Group I: acute HIV infection,

n a group who within one month of exposure develops the first clinical evidence of HIV infection, which may appear as an acute retroviral syndrome. This is a mononucleosis-like syndrome with symptoms including fever, rash, diarrhea, lymphadenopathy, myalgia, arthralgia, and fatigue. Development of antibodies usually follows.

Group II: asymptomatic HIV infection,

n a group in which most persons develop antibodies to the HIV within 6 to 12 weeks after exposure. Although individuals may remain asymptomatic for months or years, they can transmit the virus.

Group III: persistent generalized lymphadenopathy (PGL),

n a group who develops persistent generalized lymphadenopathy that lasts longer than 3 months. See also lymphadenopathy, persistent generalized.

Group IV: HIV-associated diseases,

n a group who is clinically variable and has signs and symptoms of HIV infection other than or in addition to lymphadenopathy. Based on clinical findings, patients in Group IV may be assigned to one or more of the following subgroups: (A) constitutional disease, also known as wasting syndrome. This subgroup is characterized by fever that lasts more than one month, involuntary weight loss of greater than 10% for baseline, or diarrhea persisting for more than one month, (B) neurological disease, (C) secondary infectious disease, (D) secondary cancers, and (E) other conditions resulting from HIV infections.

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acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

See AIDS.

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Patient discussion about acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Q. The HIV test came back POSITIVE! My very close friend 'Demonte'. One day in December as he was returning from a business trip, his wife met him at the airport with terrible news. During a routine pregnancy check up, her doctor had administered an HIV test along with other blood-work. The HIV test came back POSITIVE! The doctor wanted to begin administering drugs immediately but the cost of these drugs here when compared to their family income was prohibitive. I helped him with some of my savings. He already sold his favorite sentimental car to save his precious wife. Now i want to know is there any NATURAL medicine to cure this? Hope it costs less and available.

A. there are no effective natural remedy for HIV. the medications are very hard ones that try to control the virus from spreading (cannot eliminate it though). no herbal remedy or nutrition change will do that.

Q. Why AID spred? and How?

A. if you mean AIDS- it spread mostly because people don't practice safe sex or sharing needles when injecting drugs. here is a nice tutorial about HIV, it is also specify the ways of infection-
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/aids/htm/lesson.htm