HIV

Answer

HIV Sings and Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of HIV varies based on the phase of infection. The symptoms are classified into those that present during the primary HIV infection and those that present during the clinical latent infection. During the primary infection, majority of the infected people develop a flu-like illness within two months of infection. At this point the illness is known as acute HIV infection and it lasts for a few weeks. The common signs and symptoms at this stage include headache, fever, rash, sore throat, joint pain, and muscle aches (Bradley et al., 2014). Clinical latent infection of the disease lasts for about ten years for those not undergoing antiretroviral therapy. Chronic signs and symptoms at this stage include fatigue, weight loss, thrush, herpes zoster and swollen lymph nodes.

Exam Findings

Physical exam on HIV patients reveal a number of findings. First, temperature measurement indicate existence of fevers. This is the most common symptom in people with HIV. Secondly, weight measurement which indicate a loss of more than ten percent of the patient normal body weight can signal HIV presence (Bradley et al., 2014). This is because, the weight loss is normally linked to wasting syndrome which is one of the last signs of severe stage of HIV infection.  Abdomen examination may indicate enlarged spleen or enlarged liver. Mouth examination will show yeast infection and mouth sores. Lastly, eye exam will show presence of cytomegalovirus retinitis on the patient’s eyes.

Diagnostic Testing

ELISA test is done to check for certain proteins that are made by the body in response to the HIV infection. Secondly, antigen-antibody combination blood test is recommended. The test can detect HIV as soon as three weeks of infection. The test checks for the HIV antigen, a protein known as p24 which shows within two weeks of infection (Bradley et al., 2014). The other test is RNA. This test examines the virus itself and can easily diagnose HIV ten days after a patient’s exposure. It is more expensive thus not usually the first test conducted.

Evidence Based Treatment

The first evidence based treatment for IV patients is Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT). Those patients with asymptomatic infection require at least two encounters of medical nutrition therapy per year. Patients with symptomatic infection are required to have at least six medical nutrition therapy encounters with a registered dietitian in a year (Greenhalgh et al., 2014). The other treatment is eradication of malabsorption and diarrhea. A registered dietitian would recommend consumption of electrolyte-repleting beverages and soluble fiber foods. The other evidence based treatment is incorporation of physical activities in the patient’s schedules. Studies show that performing aerobic exercise at least three times per week for about twenty minute per session leads to a significant improvement in the overall health quality of HIV patients (Greenhalgh et al., 2014). The exercises improve cardiopulmonary fitness, endurance, strength, and reduced depressive symptoms.

Patient Education

An informed and empowered patient is able to achieve better health outcome due to improved trust development and communication with the health professional. HIV patient education will provide the patient with knowledge of HIV infection such as treatments, prevention and other evidence based practices to help manage the condition. Due to the rapid evolution and complexity of HIV, patient treatment should be a continuous process and a key aspect of clinical care for the patients. Some topics of discussion for the patient education include insurance information, treatment options, laboratory results interpretation and prognosis of the virus (Tuong et al., 2014).