Good nutrition in HIV/AIDS is important as it helps to:
- Prevent malnutrition and wasting
- Delay the progress of HIV to AIDS
- Enhance the body’s ability to fight opportunistic infections
- Achieve and maintain optimal body weight and strength
- Relieve complications, e.g., diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, thrush
- Improve effectiveness and tolerance of medication
- Improve quality of life
Severe malnutrition is diagnosed when:
- BMI <16 kg/m2
- Weight loss >10% in past 2 months
- MUAC <185 mm (<210 mm if pregnant or postpartum)
- Persistent diarrhoea or fever
Management
If patient has other complications
- Admit patient and treat infections and rehydrate
If patient has no other medical complications
- Treat as an outpatient
- Promote weight gain with high-energy foods, protein, vitamins and minerals
- If ready-to-use therapeutic food is available, give 3 sachets per day in adults, in addition to
normal food
* See next section for malnutrition in children - Supplement the patient’s diet with multivitamins and minerals, 1-2 tablets per day
- Follow up in 2 weeks, at 1 month, then every 2 months thereafter