PREGNANCY IN THE HIV INFECTED PATIENTS - PRESENT MANAGEMENT

This paper deals with the management of pregnant women with HIV infection. The virus is transmitted by the mother to 20-30 percent of the infants, and therapeutic abortion should be offered to women whose pregnancy does not exceed 26 weeks of amenorrhoea. If pregnancy is pursued, the mother must be investigated for sexually transmitted diseases which are particularly frequent in this population and may have repercussions on the newborn. Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia is the most common opportunistic infection in pregnancy. In case of T4-cell depletion chemotherapy with pentamidine must be instituted. Hygienic and dietetic measures should be applied to avoid listeriosis and toxoplasmosis. Serological tests for toxoplasmosis are necessary in all HIV patients, with chemoprophylaxis in case of increased IgG levels. Thrombocytopenia usually responds to human immunoglobulins. At delivery, there is no need to modify the usual obstetrical procedures. During the post-partum period, another pregnancy must be avoided by good compliance with a reliable contraceptive method. As for the preventive treatment of mother-to-child HIV transmission, at the moment only AZT can be considered, but its effectiveness remains to be evaluated in therapeutic trials.