Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome: More answers, more questions

Samuel Shelburne, Martin Montes, Richard J. Hamill

    Research output: Contribution to journalEditorialpeer-review

    258 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    The institution of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in HIV-infected patients restores protective immune responses against a wide variety of pathogens and dramatically decreases mortality. In a subset of patients receiving HAART, immune reconstitution is associated with a pathological inflammatory response leading to substantial short-term morbidity and even mortality. The past several years have seen marked advances in our clinical understanding of the immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), but many questions remain. This article summarizes recent data on clinical risk factors for the development of IRIS. A consistent finding from multiple groups is that IRIS develops in a substantial percentage of HIV-infected patients who have an underlying opportunistic infection and receive HAART. As the use of HAART stands to markedly increase over the next several years, optimal care of patients receiving HAART will need to incorporate monitoring for and treating complications of IRIS.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)167-170
    Number of pages4
    JournalJournal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
    Volume57
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Feb 2006

    Keywords

    • HAART
    • HIV
    • Paradoxical reaction
    • Restoration

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Pharmacology
    • Microbiology

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome: More answers, more questions'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this