Introduction: anemia is a common and serious complication of both HIV infection and its treatment. Severe anemia is a life-threatening condition and its causes in these patients are multiple but their frequency is unknown. Objective: of the study was to evaluate the causes of severe anemia in HIV infected adults at the time of admission to Jackson Memorial Hospital (JMH) in Miami. Materials and Methods: we reviewed the cases of severe anemia (hematocrit < 20% on admission) in HIV seropositive adults admitted to JMH between 5/96 to 5/97. Results: there were 53 patients, (27 men, 26 women). The mean CD4 cell count was 47cells/mm3 and 67% of the patients had a CD4 cell count less than 50 cells/mm3. Sixty-four percent of the patients were on antiretroviral therapy, including AZT (94%) and protease inhibitors (29%). The mean hematocrit on admission was 16% and the mean number of units of b...

After two decades of availability of antiretroviral therapy, the prognosis of HIV-infected patients has changed dramatically. The curse of this infection has changed from a rapidly fatal infection to a more manageable, chronic infection with an almost normal life span. This has led to a dramatic reduction in the mortality rate related to HIV in countries where antiretroviral therapy is widely available. With incidence rates stable or increasing and lower mortality, the prevalence of this infection is increasing. This fact increases the chances of non-specialist physicians to encounter HIV infected patients in their practice. That is why this revision is directed to the non-specialist physician and its objective is to update their knowledge in the complex area of the management of HIV therapy. This is a broad but superficial revision of the current status of the management of HIV infectio...

Introduction: anemia is a common and serious complication of both HIV infection and its treatment. Severe anemia is a life-threatening condition and its causes in these patients are multiple but their frequency is unknown. Objective: of the study was to evaluate the causes of severe anemia in HIV infected adults at the time of admission to Jackson Memorial Hospital (JMH) in Miami. Materials and Methods: we reviewed the cases of severe anemia (hematocrit < 20% on admission) in HIV seropositive adults admitted to JMH between 5/96 to 5/97. Results: there were 53 patients, (27 men, 26 women). The mean CD4 cell count was 47cells/mm3 and 67% of the patients had a CD4 cell count less than 50 cells/mm3. Sixty-four percent of the patients were on antiretroviral therapy, including AZT (94%) and protease inhibitors (29%). The mean hematocrit on admission was 16% and the mean number of units of b...

After two decades of availability of antiretroviral therapy, the prognosis of HIV-infected patients has changed dramatically. The curse of this infection has changed from a rapidly fatal infection to a more manageable, chronic infection with an almost normal life span. This has led to a dramatic reduction in the mortality rate related to HIV in countries where antiretroviral therapy is widely available. With incidence rates stable or increasing and lower mortality, the prevalence of this infection is increasing. This fact increases the chances of non-specialist physicians to encounter HIV infected patients in their practice. That is why this revision is directed to the non-specialist physician and its objective is to update their knowledge in the complex area of the management of HIV therapy. This is a broad but superficial revision of the current status of the management of HIV infectio...