Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: HIV-Related Disability, Assessment and Management, vol. 7, Special Issue.

This special issue is published as the world enters the second decade of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic. As human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related morbidity and survival time are expected to increase, the management of individuals with these chronic disabilities will continue to challenge rehabilitation professionals. The editor's purpose for this compilation of articles is to improve the ability of health care professionals to adapt the basic principles of rehabilitation assessment and treatment to HIV-related disability.

The foundations for HIV infection are presented in the first three reviews of physiology, clinical manifestations, and epidemiology. The evaluation of persons with HIV infection focuses on administrating modified functional status assessments and electrodiagnostic testing of neuromuscular diseases specific to this population. Tables in these chapters assist the reader by summarizing various functional status instruments used with the HIV-infected population and by listing the characteristics and electrodiagnostic findings of HIV-related neuromuscular diseases.

The rehabilitation management of individuals with HIV infection includes chapters on pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions in neuromuscular disease (eg, pain); definition and treatment of central nervous system deficits; and cardiac, pulmonary and rheumatological manifestations. Much of one chapter addresses the potential causes and management of the common phenomenon of fatigue. The chapter on the interdisciplinary approach to management of disability in HIV infection is coauthored by a physical therapist, an occupational therapist, and a speech and language pathologist. Of special interest to physical therapists is the coverage of pain management, exercise considerations in adults, and a review of rehabilitation considerations in pediatric HIV infection. The neuropsychologic, psychosocial, and vocational rehabilitation issues are not omitted; a chapter is devoted to each of these aspects of patient care.

This book fulfills its purpose of presenting a multidisciplinary approach to rehabilitation of individuals with HIV infections. It is one of the first texts to present HIV-related disability from a physical medicine and rehabilitation perspective. Each chapter is written by a specialist in the primary disciplines involved with that aspect of care. The content is consistent with language and explanations that are understandable to all medical professionals. The topics are covered at appropriate depths and are easily referenced. An extensive and current bibliography at the end of each chapter allows the reader to research or review an aspect of HIV in more detail. It would, therefore, be a useful reference for all health care workers. Because persons with HIV infection can present a variety of disabilities within any setting, this book would also be a useful addition to any physical therapy clinic.