Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015 Jan;20(1):24-32.
doi: 10.1111/resp.12385. Epub 2014 Sep 23.

Lung function abnormalities in HIV-infected adults and children

Gregory L Calligaro  1 , Diane M Gray
Affiliations
Free article
Review

Lung function abnormalities in HIV-infected adults and children

Gregory L Calligaro et al. Respirology. 2015 Jan.
Free article

Abstract

Despite the advent of antiretroviral therapy (ART), the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic remains a global health crisis with a high burden of respiratory disease among infected persons. While the early complications of the epidemic were dominated by opportunistic infections, improved survival has led to the emergence of non-infectious conditions that are associated with chronic respiratory symptoms and pulmonary disability. Obstructive ventilatory defects and reduced diffusing capacity are common findings in adults, and the association between HIV and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is increasingly recognized. There is synergism between viral factors, opportunistic infections, conventional influences like tobacco smoke and biomass fuel exposure, and potentially, the immunological effects of ART on the development of HIV-associated chronic obstructive lung disease. Pulmonary function data for HIV-infected infants and children are scarce, but shows that bronchiectasis and obliterative bronchiolitis with severe airflow limitation are major problems, particularly in the developing world. However, studies from these regions are sorely lacking. There is thus a major unmet need to understand the influences of chronic HIV infection on the lung in both adults and children, and to devise strategies to manage and prevent these diseases in HIV-infected individuals. It is important for clinicians working with HIV-infected individuals to have an appreciation of their effects on measurements of lung function. This review therefore summarizes the lung function abnormalities described in HIV-positive adults and children, with an emphasis on obstructive lung disease, and examines potential pathogenic links between HIV and the development of chronic pulmonary disability.

Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; diffusing capacity; human immunodeficiency virus infection; obstructive lung disease; pulmonary complications of human immunodeficiency virus..

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources