Common Opportunistic Infections in HIV-Infected Individuals

Causative ADRs / Side

Name of Disease About Disease Treatment
organism effects
Clarithromycin 500
GI intolerance,
mg orally twice daily
optic neuritis,
Mycobacterium avium +ethambutol 15
peripheral neuritis
complex infection mg/kg/day orally.
Rash, GI
For advanced disease,
intolerance
rifabutin 300 mg/day
Ciprofloxacin
Salmonella 500–750 mg
enterocolitis or orally (or 400 mg GI intolerance
bacteremia IV) twice daily
for 14 days
Bacteria Ciprofloxacin 500
mg orally twice
Campylobacter daily or
GI intolerance
enterocolitis Azithromycin 500
mg orally daily
for 7 days

Ciprofloxacin 500
Shigella enterocolitis mg orally twice GI intolerance
daily for 5 days

Acyclovir 5
mg/kg IV every 8
hours until lesions
GI
Mucocutaneous herpes regress, then
intolerance,
simplex infections acyclovir 400 mg
crystalluria
orally three times
daily until
complete healing
Acyclovir 10–15
mg/kg every 8
hours IV for 7–10 Obstructive
Primary varicella-zoster
days, then switch nephropathy,
infections
to oral acyclovir CNS symptoms
800 mg five times
daily
Viruses Ganciclovir
intraocular
implant plus
valganciclovir Neutropenia,
Cytomegalovirus
900 mg twice thrombocytopeni
(retinitis)
daily for 14–21 a
days then once
daily until
immune recovery

Ganciclovir 5
Neutropenia,
Cytomegalovirus mg/kg IV every
thrombocytopeni
esophagitis or colitis 12 hours for 21 to
a
28 days
 Elevated liver
Fluconazole 100 function tests,
Oral Candidiasis mg orally for 7– hepatotoxicity,
14 days nausea, and
vomiting
Fluconazole 100–400
mg orally or IV daily Elevated liver
for 14–21 days function tests,
Esophageal
or hepatotoxicity,
Candidiasis
Itraconazole 200 nausea, and
mg/day orally for vomiting
14–21 days
Trimethoprim–
sulfamethoxazoleIV
Skin rash, fever,
or
Pneumocystis jirovecii leucopenia
orally 15–20
pneumonia Thrombocytopen
mg/kg/day three
ia
to four divided
doses for 21 days
Amphotericin B Nephrotoxicity,
0.7 mg/kg/day IV hypokalemia,
Fungi
for a minimum of anemia, fever,
Cryptococcal 2 weeks with chills Bone
meningitis flucytosine 100 marrow
mg/ kg/day orally suppression
in four divided Elevated liver
doses enzymes
Liposomal
amphotericin B 3 Nephrotoxicity,
mg/kg/day IV for hypokalemia,
2 weeks followed anemia, fever,
by Itraconazole chills Bone
Histoplasmosis
200 mg orally marrow
thrice daily for 3 suppression
days then twice Elevated liver
daily, for 12 enzymes
months
Nephrotoxicity,
Amphotericin B hypokalemia,
0.7–1 mg/kg/day anemia, fever,
Coccidioidomycosis
IV until clinical chills Bone
improvement marrow
suppression
Protozoa Pyrimethamine
200 mg orally
once, then 50–75
Toxoplasmic Bone marrow
mg/day plus
encephalitis suppression
Sulfadiazine 1–
1.5 g orally four
times daily
sosporiasis Trimethoprim and Bone marrow
sulfamethoxazole: suppression
160 mg
trimethoprim and
800 mg
sulfamethoxazole
orally or IV four
times daily for 10
days