Primary Care for HIV-Infected Patients — New IDSA Guidelines

For those receiving care in the U.S., HIV infection is now considered a chronic condition, with most patients surviving for decades after their initial diagnosis. As the HIV-infected population ages, patients require not only HIV-specific care but also more-general health management, including cancer screening and care for conditions associated with aging. To help clinicians meet these needs, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has updated its primary care guidelines for managing HIV-infected patients. The key changes to the guidelines since the last iteration (in 2004) are as follows.

• Initial evaluation of newly diagnosed HIV-infected persons should always include genotypic testing for HIV drug resistance.

• Attention should be g…