Symptom management in HIV-infected patients

HIV infection predisposes patients to many opportunistic infections that can be treated readily once they are diagnosed. Diagnosis is sometimes difficult because these complications may be unfamiliar, and even familiar diseases present atypically in the setting of HIV. Several clinical syndromes that are common in HIV patients are described. Discussion of each syndrome includes differential diagnosis, diagnostic evaluation, and interval symptomatic treatment to alleviate distress, pending definitive treatment.