ABSTRACT
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus which causes serious disease by progressive damage to the immune system of the human host. The extent of immunosuppression in HIV disease is reflected in the clinical picture and is monitored in the laboratory by a combination of CD4 T-cell count and HIV viral load measurements. Published pain surveys in HIV disease mostly date from before the availability of effective antiretroviral therapy and there is some evidence of worsening pain with advancing disease. The biliary tree is also a source of abdominal pain in HIV with acalculous cholecystitis and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)-related sclerosing cholangitis. There may be associated secondary infections with cytomegalovirus or cryptosporidium. HIV-infected women have a higher incidence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and invasive cervical cancer, an AIDS-defining disorder. There are high rates of pelvic inflammatory disease in HIV-positive women.
