HIV-Related Opportunistic Infections

With the remarkable prolongation of life achieved among HIV-infected individuals, owing to the use of potent antiretroviral therapy, has come dramatic progress in reducing the incidence of HIV-related opportunistic infections (OIs). There has been considerable focus on antiretroviral therapy and HIV prevention, and most HIV practitioners are highly proficient at managing antiretroviral therapy. However, expertise in the management of OIs has waned as more and more physicians have little experience diagnosing or treating these life-threatening infections. Renewed attention to appropriate management is needed, because the absolute number of patients with OIs and the rates of associated mortality remain high, particularly in large urban settings in the United States. Updates to the OI guidelines have been released online by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).1 The following covers topics under discussion during preparation of these guidelines.