HIV-associated central nervous system opportunistic infections

Abstract

The occurrence rate of central nervous system (CNS) opportunistic infections in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients is extremely high. The mechanism of HIV-associated CNS opportunistic infections is closely related to the number of CD4⁺T cells. The smaller number of CD4⁺T cells is, the higher occurrence rate of opportunistic infections will be. The pathogens involved in the infections are complex, including virus, bacteria, fungus, mycobacterium and parasite. The clinical manifestations of different pathogens are similar, but the treatments are significantly different. It is undoubtedly a great challenge for clinicians to identify different pathogens. Therefore, prompt and correct diagnosis of such disorders is critical for increasing patients' survival rates.

DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2016.08.003