General nutrition management in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus

Nutritional management is integral to the care of all patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV infection results in complicated nutritional issues for patients, and there is growing evidence that nutritional interventions influence health outcomes in HIV-infected patients. We define levels of nutritional care, and we discuss when patients should be referred to providers (i.e., registered dietitians) with nutritional and HIV expertise. Nutritional management is integral to the care of all HIV-infected patients. Approximately 920,000 Ameri-cans (36 million people worldwide) are estimated to be infected with the HIV, with ∼40,000 new infections in the United States per year [1, 2]. During the course of HIV infection, several nutritional issues are likely to arise, including the need for education about the fol-lowing: • Healthful dietary principles. • Maintenance of lean body mass and normal growth in children, and the treatment of wasting. • Management of metabolic complications due to drug therapies. • Management of drug and food or nutrient inter-actions. • Management of gastrointestinal symptoms that may influence the types and amount of food in-gested. • Appropriate use of herbal and/or nutritional supplements. • Cultural and ethnic beliefs related to diet and food [3, 4]