Patients with HIV infection / AIDS are at increased risk of developing lung disease, both infectious and noninfectious.

Several infections have historically caused significant morbidity and mortality in patients with HIV infection including Pneumocystis pneumonia, tuberculosis, "routine" bacterial pneumonia including cases caused by pneumococcus and Haemophilus influenzae, endemic fungal infections, infections with nontuberculous mycobacteria, and nocardiosis.

Some of these infections (eg, Pneumocystis pneumonia) occur more commonly in severely immunosuppressed patients, whereas other infections can be seen in patients at all stages of HIV infection (eg, tuberculosis). Travel to or residence in endemic regions makes other infections more likely (eg, coccidioidomycosis). Diagnosis of infections in patients with HIV requires an understanding of the patient's immune status and likelihood of exposure to infectious agents.

Lung and other cancers, pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are more prevalent and often more severe in the HIV-positive population. HIV appears to be an independent risk factor for COPD and PAH. The pathogenesis of these conditions as it relates to HIV infection is not known with certainty.

Related topics: HIV/AIDS-related pruritus, HIV primary infection, papular pruritic eruption of HIV