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# AIDS AIDS is a serious health issue that is still a major threat around the world. Although mortality rates have fallen over 80% thanks to new treatments, several symptoms indicate AIDS, including: - Failure to thrive and developmental abnormalities - Hepatosplenomegaly. - Respiratory distress w...

# AIDS AIDS is a serious health issue that is still a major threat around the world. Although mortality rates have fallen over 80% thanks to new treatments, several symptoms indicate AIDS, including: - Failure to thrive and developmental abnormalities - Hepatosplenomegaly. - Respiratory distress with chronic interstitial pneumonia, PCP. - Oral candidiasis. - Recurrent infections. - Lymphadenopathy, generalized. ## Treatment Considerations Treatment involves combination therapy with at least 3 anti-retroviral drugs: NRTIs, NNRTIS, PIs, and/or fusion inhibitors. When developing a treatment plan, these factors should be considered: - Severity of disease, co-morbid conditions - Short and long-term effects of treatment - Initial treatment's effect on later treatment - Compliance of child/parent with regimen - Age of child and whether HIV acquired perinatally or through other means - Stage of puberty (early puberty = pediatric regimen; late puberty = adult regimen) although puberty is often delayed. - Antiviral drug resistance testing to insure proper treatment. ## Treatment Categories Treatment is based on CD4 counts, according to age, indicating the amount of immunosuppression: ### Category 1: No detectable CD4 suppression: -