AIDS and Pain

Abstract

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was determinated in 1981 which was caused by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) that was described in 1983. The prevelance of pain among patients with AIDS has ranged between 30-90%. The most common pain diagnoses included painful sensory peripheral polyneuropathy, pain from extensive Kaposi's sarcoma lesions, headaches, oropharyngeal pain, abdomen and chest pain, myalgias, artralgias, and skin pain. Types of pain were described as 25% neuropathic, 44% nociceptive-somatic, 14% nociceptive-visceral and 17% idiopathic pain. The approach to managing pain in AIDS should be fundamentally similar to the treatment of cancer pain, including the use of the World Health Organization (WHO) analgesic ladder. Treatment of pain will significantly decrease psychological and functional problems in AIDS patients.