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Ask the Experts about Managing Side Effects of HIV Treatment
My HIV specialist doctor called after work today and informed me that I have a CMV infection, which was discovered, tested and confirmed following a colon surgery that I had three weeks ago. What I don't understand is my T-Cell count is 450 and my viral load is about 70,000. My doctor said he has not seen this in 10 years and asked me to come in and see him on his lunch break tomorrow because he said we need start treating both my HIV and CMV. Do I have any non-IV treatment options for CMV? Because my T-cell count is relatively high above 100, should I ask for a second opinion? I am very worried.
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Response from Dr. Henry
If you have CMV infection in the blood, eyes, and/or on histology +/- culture from gut source then treatment is often considered. If you have had a splenectomy then the CD4 count can be very misleading regarding risk for HIV-related infections. It is unusual to have serious CMV infection in the standard HIV+ patient with a CD4 count > 350 but it does happen occasionally. KH
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