HIV/AIDS Clinical stages & Oral manifestations - Highlights

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is an infection caused by the retrovirus "Human Immunodefeciency Virus" (HIV). This disease is characterized by severe immunosuppression, making the patient susceptible to various opportunistic infections, malignancies and neurological disorders.

📝Here are some "Highlights" or a high level overview of the Clinical Stages of HIV infection

• Stages of HIV infection -> 1) Acute phase, 2) Chronic phase (latency period) and 3) AIDS.

• The acute phase is a self-limited phase of acute illness called "Acute HIV syndrome" or "Acute retroviral syndrome".

• The period of transition when the patient develops detectable antibodies towards HIV, is called "seroconversion".

• The period between the initial exposure to the virus (when there are no antibodies towards HIV) to seroconversion is called a "window period".

• Chronic phase -> is a period of latency without any clinical symptoms.

• During this period (chronic phase), there is a steady decline in the CD4+ T cell count in the lymph nodes and circulation. 

• When the CD4+ T cell count goes below 200 cells/mm3, the patient is said to have developed AIDS.

• Oral lesions strongly associated with HIV infection -> Candidiasis, Hairy leukoplakia, Kaposi sarcoma, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Periodontal diseases - Linear gingival erythema, NUG and NUP.

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🎥 A Preview Video!

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🔎You could dig deeper into the topic

In fact, we delve a lot more deeper into this topic in our cheatsheet/note -> HIV/AIDS. We talk about,

• structure of HIV,

• pathogenesis

• clinical stages of HIV infection

• oral manifestations of HIV infection

You could read in detail about HIV/AIDS with our Revision Ninja - Oral Pathology and Medicine Course bundle!

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💡Note

Apart from Notes, you could also get access to numerous MCQs and Videos with English captions/subtitles on various topics in Oral Pathology and Medicine.

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📚Other study resources on HackDentistry!

• Revision Ninja - Oral Histology (Notes, Videos & MCQs)

• Revision Ninja - Periodontics (Notes & MCQs)

• Question Bank (5000+ Questions)

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