Opportunistic infections in HIV disease: down but not out

Despite the marked improvement in patient survival and reduction in the incidence of HIV-related opportunistic infections with the introduction of potent, combination antiretroviral therapy, these infections remain a significant challenge in the management of HIV-infected patients. Ongoing issues that will require further study include a better characterization of immune reconstitution illnesses, other potential alterations in the natural history of opportunistic infections with antiretroviral therapy, and to what degree patients who experience failure of antiviral treatment become susceptible to various opportunistic processes.