AIDS Flashcards
What is the virus that causes AIDS?
HIV
How is HIV transmitted?
- Sexual intercourse
- Direct contact with infected fluid such blood and body fluids (semen, breastmilk)
- HIV mother gives birth to baby
What are the 5 symptoms of HIV?
- Fever
- Weight loss
- Diarrhea
- Night sweats
- Fatigue
How is the presence of HIV confirmed?
What is screening test?
The ELISA test
•If it’s positive then it followed up with HIV differentiation assay
The western blot test is no longer used
How does HIV attack the body?
It attracts the immune system by destroying the T-lymphocytes aka CD4 cells
The virus replicates its self rapidly
What CD4 cells do?
They help the immune system + they recognize and fight pathogens
Y is CD4 count important?
The lower the CD4 count the more damage the virus had done to the body
What is a normal CD4 count?
500-1500
What is the normal CD4 count in a client with HIV?
Anything at or above 500 the client is considered in good health! If it’s below 500 , HIV has progress to AIDS
If the CD4 count is below 200
The client is risk for opportunistic infections
List 5 opportunistic infections
- oral pharyngeal canididal ( mouth infection)
- Kaposi’s sarcoma( skin cancer)
- pneumocystis pneumonia
- cytomegalovirus ( blindness)
- meningitis
What is the goal of HIV meds?
To Interfere with the virus replicating
What are the most important HIV meds to know??
Zidovudine (AZT, RETROVIR)
Which isolation precaution are used with HIV?
Universal precautions
Pt don’t have to tell they have HIV
treat everybody as if their infected
How do precautions change with AIDS?
If the client has has a low CD4 count and is at risk for opportunistic infections: Implement
-private room
-reverse isolation
RN wears gowns, googles, mask when in directed contacted with blood or body fluids
