Spectrum of Opportunistic Infections in HIV disease

HIV infection,a global pandemic,causes profound immunodeficiency. As CD4 cell count declines, the patient is at higher risk of developing a variety of Opportunistic diseases (OI’s) including infections and neoplasms. Factors like Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome (IRIS),failure of ART,ART resistance and drug compliance have further modified the course of this disease. However, patients at different stages of their Anti Retroviral Therapy continue to develop OI. This study shows the pattern of infections occurring in HIV patients . A prospective, longitudinal, study was done during a 2 year period over 100 HIV patients with opportunistic infection in Bharati Medical College,Hospital and research centre, Pune, Maharashtra,India. Most common infection was pulmonary and extrapulmonary tuberculosis followed by oral candidiasis , herpes zoster and toxoplasmosis respectively. Maximum patients were in median age of 40 yrs, males of labourer group were more commonly affected in study. Multiple as well as single OI were seen in a significant number of HIV patients. This study will guide the beginners studying HIV regarding various opportunistic infections in HIV disease.