NUTRITION BEHAVIOR OF MALNOURISHED HIV-INFECTED PATIENTS AND INTENSIFIED ORAL NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTION

Malnutrition and cachexia are characteristic symptoms of human immunod eficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection and AIDS. To identify risk situation s that might affect nutritional behavior and status and to evaluate th e therapeutic effect of an intensified oral nutritional intervention, we analyzed 81 consecutively treated homosexual HIV-infected outpatien ts with malnutrition retrospectively and could follow the outcome of a nutritional intervention prospectively in 54 of them. Nutritional the rapy was ineffective for only 5 of the 54 patients; constant weight lo ss could be stopped in 31 of the patients, and 18 patients could even gain weight. We suggest intensified oral nutritional intervention shou ld be an integral part of the treatment of HIV-infected patients to pr event or treat malnutrition.