INTRODUCTION:

Since the first cases of AIDS were identified in 1981, close to 30 million people have died as a result of HIV infection.¹ This makes AIDS one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history.²The epidemic remains extremely dynamic, and no country in the world is unaffected. In 2009, HIV infected approximately 33 million people worldwide. Approximately 68% of these cases are in sub-Saharan. In 2009 alone, approximately 1.8 million people died from AIDS and 2.6 million people were newly infected with HIV.³ Most of these infections were acquired through heterosexual transmission. As of December 2009, women accounted for 52% of all people living with HIV worldwide.⁴ Persons aged 15 to 24 years accounted for approximately 40% of new HIV infections worldwide.⁵

RISK FACTORS:

· Sexual Practices that promote Disease Transmission

· Under the influence of drugs

· Multiple partners

· Sores in genital area

· Administration of blood or blood products

· Transplantation of tissue or organs

· Implantation of infected semen

· Use of injected drugs (drug abuse)

· Occupational exposure

· HIV-infected mothers to infants during pregnancy, delivery, or breastfeeding

· Ulcerative STD’s

· Syphilis

· Herpes simplex

· Chancroid

· Non-ulcerative STD’s

· Gonorrhea

· Chlamydia

· Trichomoniasis ⁶

DIAGNOSTIC INVESTIGATIONS:

· Evidence of HIV infection

· Virus isolation

· Measurement of viral nucleic acid

· Detection of viral antigen

· Detection of viral antibody

· Recognition of immunodeficiency

· CD4+ T cell count

· Recognition of AIDS related disease

· HIV can be cultured from lymphocytes in peripheral blood.

· Detection of viral Nucleic Acid

· By RT-PCR

· Branched-chain DNA

· Western Blot

· Viral Load Test

· ELISA Test ⁷

SYMPTOMS:

· CD4 counts drop to 500-600 cells/ml

Symptoms:

· Recurrent fever, night sweats, malaise, headache

Physical findings:

· lymphadenopathy, spleen enlarged, rash, weight loss

· Fever

· Fatigue

· Swollen lymph nodes — often one of the first signs of HIV infection

· Diarrhea

· Weight loss

· Oral yeast infection (thrush)

· Shingles (herpes zoster)⁸

TREATMENT:

Patient was originally administered antiretroviral agents.

I.Entry inhibitors

II.Reverse Transcriptase inhibitors

III.Protease inhibitors

IV.Integrase inhibitors

Entry Inhibitors:

Prevent HIV from entering healthy T cells in the body

enfuvirtide (Fuzeon)

Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors:

Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors

(NsRTIs) Incorporate into viral DNA terminating its construction

E.g. Lamivudine - Abacavir

ii. Non-Nucleoside ReverseTranscriptase Inhibitors (NNRTI’s)

Action is similar to NRTI’s; bind directly to reverse transcriptase

E.g. Nevirapine ⁹

Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors

iii. Nucleotide Reverse Transctriptase Inhibitors (NtRTI’s)

E.g. Tenofovir

Strategies to maximize benefits/minimize toxicities

1) Alternating therapies

2) Combination therapy:

Demonstrated more beneficial than monotherapy

i. Decreased emergence of resistance

ii. Decreased risk of toxicity ¹⁰

CASE STUDY:

A 39 Years old male client was admitted to hospital with chief sign and symptoms of lymphadenopathy, spleen enlarged, rash, weight loss. He was diagnosed with HIV aids. Diagnostic method used were western blot and ELISA test. client was given treatment using antiretroviral agents.

CONCLUSION:

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a chronic, potentially life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). By damaging immune system, HIV interferes with your body's ability to fight infection and disease. AIDS incidences are increasing by nearly 2.6 million every year. AIDS is the serious chronic, potentially life-threatening disease Western Blot, Viral Load Test, ELISA Test are the diagnostics methods. The prognosis is depend usually better if treatment received on time

REFERENCES:

1. "What Are HIV and AIDS? | HIV.gov". www.hiv.gov. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). May 15, 2017. Archived from the original on September 22, 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2017.

2. "HIV Classification: CDC and WHO Staging Systems | AIDS Education and Training Centers National Coordinating Resource Center (AETC NCRC)". aidsetc.org. AIDS Education and Training Center Program. Archived from the original on October 18, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2017.

3. "Wear your red ribbon this World AIDS Day | UNAIDS". www.unaids.org. UNAIDS Secretariat. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved September 10,2017.

4. "HIV/AIDS Fact sheet N°360". World Health Organization. November 2015. Archived from the original on February 17, 2016. Retrieved February 11,2016.

5. "About HIV/AIDS". CDC. December 6, 2015. Archived from the original on February 24, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016.

6. UNAIDS (May 18, 2012). "The quest for an HIV vaccine". Archived from the original on May 24, 2012.

7. UNAIDS, World Health Organization (December 2007). "2007 AIDS epidemic update" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 27, 2008. Retrieved March 12, 2008.

8. "Global HIV & AIDS statistics — 2020 fact sheet". www.unaids.org. UNAIDS. Retrieved January 20, 2021.

9. Sepkowitz KA (June 2001). "AIDS – the first 20 years". The New England Journal of Medicine. 344 (23): 1764–72. doi:10.1056/NEJM200106073442306. PMID 11396444.

10. Krämer A, Kretzschmar M, Krickeberg K (2010). Modern infectious disease epidemiology concepts, methods, mathematical models, and public health (Online-Ausg. ed.). New York: Springer. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-387-93835-6. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.

Received on 04.03.2021 Modified on 20.10.2021

Int. J. Nur. Edu. and Research. 2022; 10(1):21-22.

DOI: 10.52711/2454-2660.2022.00006