New guidelines for prevention and treatment of infection in HIV-exposed and -infected children

The NIH and CDC have published new guidelines to assist healthcare providers in the prevention and treatment of secondary infections in children exposed to, or infected with, HIV. The guidelines contain recommendations from the CDC, the NIH, the HIV Medicine Association of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Specifically, these pediatric guidelines include:

• Emphasis on the importance of effective antiretroviral therapy to improve children’s immune function
• Information on diagnosing and managing immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome
• Information on the management of antiretroviral therapy in children with opportunistic infections, including potential drug-drug interactions
• New guidance on use of antibiotic drugs to prevent Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in infants
• Updated immunization recommendations for HIV-exposed and -infected children, including hepatitis A, human papillomavirus, meningococcal, and rotavirus vaccines
• A new section outlining treatments for malaria, which may become an opportunistic infection in HIV-infected immigrant children or HIV-infected children who travel to countries with malaria
• New recommendations on when to discontinue medication for preventing opportunistic infections

For more information visit www.nih.gov/news/health/aug2009/nichd-26a.htm.