Open AccessSevere airflow obstruction in vertically acquired HIV infection
Author(s) -
Calligaro Gregory L.,
Esmail Aliasgar,
Gray Diane M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
respirology case reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.304
H-Index - 9
ISSN - 2051-3380
DOI - 10.1002/rcr2.71
Subject(s) - medicine , bronchiectasis , tuberculosis , immunology , etiology , bronchiolitis , disease , chronic infection , lung , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , immune system , infectious disease (medical specialty) , intensive care medicine , virus , pathology
It is becoming increasingly clear that human immunodeficiency virus ( HIV ) infection, either independently or in concert with opportunistic infections like pulmonary tuberculosis, is a risk factor for the development of chronic airflow limitation. In the majority of patients the etiology of this obstructive ventilatory defect is multifactorial. Post‐infectious obliterative bronchiolitis, post‐tuberculous lung damage (including bronchiectasis), immune reconstitution and the direct effects of HIV viral infection may all play a role. With increases in life expectancy and decreases in infectious complications in patients taking antiretroviral medications, the importance of HIV ‐associated chronic lung disease as a cause of pulmonary disability is likely to increase. This is particularly relevant in regions like sub‐ S aharan A frica, where both HIV infection and tuberculosis are highly prevalent. Here, to illustrate the complexity of this interaction, we present the case of a 15‐year‐old girl with vertically acquired HIV infection, multiple episodes of pulmonary infection, and severe airflow obstruction.