Diarrheal Syndrome in HIV-Infection/AIDS: A Review

Abstract

HIV infection continues to be a huge socio-economic problem. The infection is characterized by a variety of symptoms, with the involvement of the gastrointestinal tract in all infected. Diarrhea is the most common gastrointestinal symptom among HIV-infected patients and is seen in over 90% of them. The etiology of diarrhea syndrome is varied and is both infectious and non-infectious. In recent years, the number of patients with non-infectious diarrhea has increased due to the introduction of specific antiretroviral therapy, prolonging the survival of HIV-infected patients, and the occurrence of a variety of accompanying chronic and malignant diseases affecting intestinal structures. The incidence, severity and variation in the clinical picture of diarrhea is determined by specific immune changes in the gastrointestinal tract as well as changes occurring in the intestinal microbiome in HIV-infected / AIDS patients.