HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, is a disease associated with the penetration of an aggressive pathological agent into the blood, which, developing in its natural environment - cells, tissues, organs - affects their porous membrane, increasing the permeability of all possible infectious antibodies. Among other things, due to the reflex drop in protective functions, an HIV-positive patient is much more difficult to endure the usual standard diseases for many specialists:
- ARVI;
- colds and the like.
Their treatment may take not 3-4 days or a week, but several months, with the preservation of subferal temperature and all signs of inflammation. There are several classifications of HIV. Some of them are shown below.
Detailed characteristics
All members of the class of retroviruses, to which HIV belongs, are highly resistant to temperature extremes (survive even undercritical indicators), external influences and, getting on the mucous membranes (in open wounds), they instantly strengthen, causing a chronic inflammatory process with a long latent period (more than three months).
At this time, a sick person - a carrier of HIV infection - does not even suspect the presence of a foreign antigen in the blood, continuing to lead a normal life. The first alarming signals of serious he alth problems appear only at the time of third-party infection, for example, with hypothermia, when the recovery process takes a painfully long time and no visible improvements are observed even after a month of intensive treatment.
Stages
The following classification of HIV stages is distinguished:
- Incubation period. Includes infection and the manifestation of the first signs of the disease. The duration of such a period is up to three months.
- Acute infection. Duration approximately twelve months. Signs are active.
- Latent. It can last up to twenty years. It all depends on the he alth of the infected person.
- AIDS. The last stage in which there is a high probability of death.
Clinical classification of HIV infection
At the moment, in the differential diagnosis of pathological conditions caused by HIV infection, the CDC 1993 classification of diseases developed in the USA (Atlanta) is used. It includes three virological states: A, B, C, respectively. They include not only pathocharacteristicsand general exhaustion of the body, but also the degree of activity of the DM4+ pathogen:
- The presence of the virus was not detected, because too little time has passed to start the diagnosis or the inflammatory process is of a different nature. The symptom complex is characteristic of any infectious lesion;
- Patients who are characterized by the following manifestations of the disease: pathology of the anorectal squamous epithelium (in most cases dysplasia), bacillary angiomatosis, various types of candidiasis (which occur again and again after a short period of time and are difficult to treat), constitutional signs (high body temperature >38.5°C or diarrhea lasting more than a month), hairy leukoplakia of the tongue, herpes zoster infection (at least two separate episodes or involving more than one dermatome), idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, listeriosis, HIV-associated nephropathy, onychomycosis, pelvic inflammatory disease (especially complicated by tubo-ovarian abscess), peripheral neuropathy. HIV is freely diagnosed. The beginning of the transition state to the C phase is noted.
- Defined as the stage of pre-AIDS and AIDS. Patients in this category are in critical condition. They have total defeats:
- bronchi;
- trachea;
- lymph nodes;
- circulatory system and capillary beds;
- of all life support systems – liver;
- kidney;
- urinary tract;
- heart;
- central nervous system;
- peripheral fibers and ligamentous apparatus.
At this stage, doctors make the most important decision - to prescribe maintenance therapy until the moment of final death, or try to save a person by prescribing a course of intensive care using the most powerful drugs.
2006 classification
The second, frequently used classification is an adapted and revised version of the American clinical version - "Classification of HIV infection according to WHO", was created in Russia in 2006. It also includes the stages of the reactive process, the pathological substantiation of one degree or another (form), the degree of rooting of the virus and the rate of its spread. However, the foreign separation principle is more preferable in many medical centers and laboratories, as it includes a complete list of symptoms at each known stage and reflects the change in indicators according to analytical data.
Pathogenesis
Despite the relationship between the manifestations of the disease and the form of its receipt, HIV infection in each individual patient can manifest itself in different ways (that is, at different speeds). The general postulates of the development of a pathological process with the introduction of reactive agents into cells and tissues of organs and systems are:
- Infection within 1-5 days.
- Stabilization of the virus and its dangerous spread. Mucous membranes, blood, human waste products serve as a source of infection.
- Affection of the lymph nodes, their inflamed condition.
- Reduced quality of life due to constant colds, problems with the gastrointestinal tract, sexual function.
- Clear signs of a complex inflammatory process. Body temperature rises sharply and also falls sharply. Colds do not go away even under the influence of strong antibiotics. There is extreme depletion of the body. Mental activity of a person is sharply reduced. There is constant drowsiness and lethargy.
- Spastic and clonic disorders may appear - convulsions, tremors. For the first time, problems associated with the work of the heart appear - rhythm disturbance, heart rate, blood pressure rises. Respiratory function is gradually depressed. The lymph nodes are greatly enlarged and make it difficult to swallow food. The stomach is malfunctioning, the excretory system is also weakening.
- A condition associated with an extreme form of the disease, when it is almost impossible to save the patient.
Diagnosis
In order to reliably determine the presence of HIV infection, several laboratory tests are carried out, which depend on the WHO classification of HIV:
- screening diagnostics, which establishes the presence of the viral nature of the disease;
- sorting test - identifies the most characteristic agents, including human immunodeficiency virus;
- serological tests - reliably confirm or deny the presence of HIV in the human body. In addition, they also determine the degree of influenceand the rate of strengthening of the pathological process.
Other laboratory tests that can be applied: PCR diagnostics. This is a direct method for revealing the cellular structure of an external stimulus, its features, and the phase of mutation in the intercellular space. It is carried out in the case of an unmistakable diagnosis, when the clinical picture is most characteristic.
Therapy. Treatment of HIV infection HAART: concept, goals and principles of the method
Today, the treatment of HIV infection has become possible thanks to the use of HAART (Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy) and ART (Antiretroviral Therapy), developed in 1996. They involve the use of several combined drugs that can act on the virus, making it less mobile, slowing down and stopping the growth of an aggressive environment, preventing HIV from developing into AIDS. Despite the apparent complexity in application, HAART and ART are the most effective and over many decades have shown themselves more than positively in delivering people from complex viral attacks.
Treatment Goal
The goal of this therapeutic approach is to cremate the virus cells and artificially put them into a dormant state. If HAART was carried out in a full course before pregnancy (at the planning stage), the child is born absolutely he althy and has every chance for full development, later life.
Duration of therapy
Treatment shouldcarried out for life. Diverse medical support is prescribed to stabilize the general condition. The most favorable is the case of early detection of HIV infection, since the dosage and the total time spent on restoring the normal functional state of many vital organs is much less.
