PARASITOSES EMERGENTES EM PACIENTES COM HIV/AIDS: REVISÃO DE LITERATURA
Authors: Miranda Caio , Abelha Neto Geraldo , Neves Gustavo , da Silva Filho Walton 
Published: August 2024

Introduction: intestinal parasites represent an important public health problem, especially in underdeveloped countries, being responsible for high morbidity and mortality in patients with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), considering that they do not affect immunocompetent patients in the same way. In this sense, the diagnosis and treatment of intestinal parasites in patients with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are influenced by this co-infection and Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) presents itself as one of the fundamental prophylaxis methods to raise the CD4+ T cell count above of 200 cells/mm³, significantly reducing the risk of opportunistic infections. Early detection through control of CD4+ T cell count levels is essential to reduce the impact of these secondary infections. Objective: the general objective of this review was to obtain information about intestinal parasites in patients with HIV/AIDS, addressing their prevalence, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of these opportunistic infections caused by the main intestinal parasites. Method: this is a narrative literature review, through bibliographical research in original articles, case reports, guidelines and clinical trials. The articles were selected from the Scielo and Pubmed databases, between the period 2018-2024. Development: parasitic infections in patients with HIV/AIDS are more common in underdeveloped or developing countries. Furthermore, the most prevalent parasites in these cases are Cryptosporidium sp and the helminth Strongyloides stercoralis. Regarding diagnosis, it is based on parasitological, serological and molecular techniques, and it is important to use different methods to identify and characterize parasitic infections with greater sensitivity in this vulnerable population. It is worth remembering that monitoring the CD4+ T cell count is extremely important for the institution of specific therapy in patients with intestinal parasitosis previously diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. In this sense, prevention of infected or exposed individuals is based on access to treated water, environmental sanitation and personal hygiene measures. Furthermore, antiretroviral therapy and specific treatment for parasites are of utmost importance for an adequate prognosis of patients affected by co-infection between HIV and Cryptosporidium parvum or Strongyloides stercoralis. Conclusion: Parasites such as Cryptosporidium parvum and Strongyloides stercoralis were prevalent in immunocompromised patients. Furthermore, in this review it was observed that the ideal for accurate diagnosis would be to use molecular and serological techniques, which are more advanced, together with the EPF, however these are high cost and are not available in precarious locations. Furthermore, this work demonstrated that Antiretroviral Therapy, together with specific therapy for Strongyloides stercoralis and Cryptosporidum parvum, proved to be extremely important for controlling co-infection between HIV and emerging parasites.