The Healthy Life Choices Project in HIV-Positive Patients

Thirty to fifty percent of individuals with HIV can be expected to have diarrhea at some point during their illness. Diarrhea can be a chronic condition in HIV disease wherein three or more daily episodes of loose, watery stools are experienced for 4 weeks or more. Chronic diarrhea has been associated with significant morbidity, weight loss, and severe malnutrition. Researchers have reported that patients with chronic diarrhea experience a marked decrease in quality of life in comparison with HIV patients without diarrhea.

The goal of nutrition management for patients with chronic diarrhea is to ensure that adequate caloric consumption meets the metabolic needs of such individuals and to provide symptomatic relief. HIV infection, regardless of stage, causes an increase in resting energy expenditure because of the response of the body to the viral infection. Proper nutrition management can therefore assist in preventing further nutritional imbalances.

Inclusion criteria

• 18 years of age or older
• diagnosed with HIV or AIDS based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria
• experienced a minimum of three episodes of loose, watery, or liquid stools in a 24-hour period for at least 3 weeks
• provide verification from their primary care provider of HIV status, chronic diarrhea history, documentation of medical evaluations completed
• laboratory confirmation that stool samples were negative for pathogens
• patients who were taking antidiarrheal agents were required to be on a stable regimen (same drug, dosage, and frequency) for at least 7 days before entry into the study and still meet diarrhea frequency and consistency criteria
• antiretroviral agents taken to manage HIV required a stable regimen (same drugs, dosage, and frequency) for at least 8 weeks before study entry
• patients were required to complete a mini-mental state examination, obtaining a score of 24 or higher

Exclusion criteria

• not meeting any of the above criteria