The National HIV Testing Policy recommends that all pregnant women should be routinely offered HIV testing. This should be performed with pre-test discussion, preferably at the first antenatal visit.[2] The risk of perinatal transmission of HIV can be significantly reduced by a number of established evidence-based antenatal and postnatal interventions and appropriate care throughout the …
Virginia Furner The Albion Centre, Sydney, NSW Women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Australia are now choosing pregnancy as a proactive, positive, reproductive option. In addition, some women will be initially diagnosed as having HIV infection during a pregnancy. All with HIV women should have access to all the recommended strategies to prevent …
Pregnancy and reproductive health in women with HIV infection Read More »
AU Comment: Short Summary An updated recommendation regarding statin therapy in PLHIV has been provided within the DHHS guidelines in February 2024, following the publication of the REPRIEVE trial in August 20231. This provides guidelines for the use of statin treatment based on this large multinational study that has provided clear evidence of improved cardiovascular …
Informing a child or YP LWHIV of their HIV status can be a difficult task, best done as a gradual, family-centred process (8). Once a child/YP knows they are LWHIV, parents and health staff can support and educate them appropriately (9). Disclosure is best done in a planned, systematic way, rather than unplanned or forced …
Transition to adult care may symbolise loss (as it does in many chronic conditions) however due to HIV-related stigma, this transition and associated sense of loss may be experienced more acutely. Furthermore, since many YP moving to adult services are not yet sexually active, the nurse may need to facilitate referral to an appropriate service. …
When children and YP are LWHIV, it is usually considered a ‘family condition’. The parents, one or both of whom are also usually LWHIV, often experience the psychosocial burden of having transmitted the virus to their child. This commonly influences the parents’ ability and willingness to allow the young person to learn of their own …
Before initiation of treatment, nurses must assess and consider the child’s ability to swallow pills. This is a fundamental skill required before treatment in pill form can start, and before the transition to tablets from liquid. Teaching pill swallowing may require several sessions and the use of placebo capsules or jelly sweets is often helpful. …
Due to the small population of children and YP LWHIV in Australia, paediatric formulations of antiretroviral medicines are not always readily available. Nurses may need to advocate for compassionate access to formulations not generally available in Australia. Treatment adherence may be hampered by issues such as cumbersome liquid preparations which may require refrigeration. The child …
Growth in children depends on multiple factors, some of them environmental such as nutrition, maternal health, and the psychosocial context in which they live. Growth also means a growing and developing brain. Factors such as lack of access to ARVs from an early age may lead to neurodevelopment impairment. Nurses can ensure vaccination schedules are …
Keeping well: growing children into healthy adults Read More »
HIV infection leads to a gradual but persistent loss of host immunity that results in a syndrome of immune dysregulation, dysfunction, and deficiency(1). Initial infection with HIV leads to large depletion of CD4+ effector-memory lymphocytes from mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue. There is generalised immune activation leading to progressive decline in naïve and memory T cell pool …