HIV CPD_IN.indd


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A maximum of 3 CEUs will be awarded per correctly completed test.

E�ective in 2014, the CPD programme for SAJHIVMED will be administered by Medical Practice Consulting: CPD 
questionnaires must be completed online at www.mpconsulting.co.za. A�er submission, you can check the answers and print 
your certi�cate.

�is programme is available free of charge to members of the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society and SAMA only.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Read the journal. All the answers will be found there.
2. Go to www.mpconsulting.co.za to answer the questions.

Accreditation number: MDB001/012/01/2014 (Clinical)

112    SAJHIVMED   SEPTEMBER 2014, Vol. 15, No. 3  

CPD QUESTIONNAIRE
September 2014 Vol. 15 No. 3

TRUE or FALSE:

Tailoring of adult antiretroviral therapy (ART) 
1.    Studies show that HIV-positive people who are receiving 

treatment and have suppressed viral loads are unlikely to 
transmit the virus to HIV-negative sexual partners. 

2.    �e optimal CD4+ threshold to initiate treatment to maximise 
clinical bene�ts is widely known to be 500 cells/µl. 

Management of mental health disorders and central nervous 
system (CNS) sequelae in HIV-positive children and adoles-
cents
3.    HIV-positive children and adolescents are at increased risk 

of both CNS sequelae and mental disorders.
4 .   HIV-positive children who begin ART in infancy are at 

increased risk of CNS sequelae compared with untreated 
perinatally HIV-infected children. 

5.    �e most common primary HIV-related CNS complication 
in children is HIV encephalopathy. 

Expression of DC-SIGN and DC-SIGNRs in the placentas of 
HIV-positive women
6.    Without any form of ART or prohylaxis, most vertical 

transmission of HIV occurs via the virus crossing the 
placenta. 

7.    Both DC-SIGN and DC-SIGNR expression were higher in 
placentas from HIV-positive mothers compared with HIV-
negative cases. 

8.    Perinatally HIV-infected children present with high rates 
of mental disorders that exceed population norms and rates 
observed in other chronically ill children. 

Management of patients presenting with diarrhoea
9.    In South Africa (SA), diarrhoea is a common presentation 

to the emergency department only among HIV-infected 
individuals. 

10.  HIV infection is not considered in the acute diarrhoea 
guidelines; only as an opportunistic infection that causes 
chronic diarrhoea. 

11.  Patients prescribed antibiotics for diarrhoea unrelated to 
severity of disease or possibility of being admitted are put at 
risk of both undertreated infection and the development of 
a resistant organism. 

Management of cryptococcal meningitis (CM) in adults 
12.  CM is relatively uncommon among HIV-infected indivi-

duals in SA. 
13.  Headaches, unexplained fever, nausea, vomiting, neck sti�-

ness, confusion, seizures, abnormal behaviour, new onset of 
psychiatric symptoms, altered level of consciousness, focal 
neurological signs, diplopia, unexplained blindness and 
sometimes coma are some of the ways in which CM may 
present in HIV-positive patients. 

14.  Despite the availability of highly active antiretroviral 
therapy (HAART), the mortality from CM has not 
decreased signi�cantly from the pre-HAART era. 

Steps towards elimination of mother-to-child transmission
15.  �ere have been only minor improvements to the SA 

prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) 
programme over the last decade. 

16.  An SA PMTCT evaluation study has showed a high uptake 
of PMTCT services nationally. 

17.  Routine birth polymerase chain reaction testing for high-risk 
infants would allow for early detection of infants infected 
with HIV and rapid initiation of ART. 

Value of lymph node biopsy to detect Castleman’s disease
18.  A diagnosis of Castleman’s disease can be made on clinical 

�ndings alone. 
19.  Multicentric Castleman’s disease (MCD) is a rare, aggressive 

lymphoproliferative disorder with an increased prevalence 
in people living with HIV. 

20.  Modality of treatment of MCD is strongly guided by clinical 
classi�cation, in particular whether a patient has uni- or 
multicentric disease. 

2014/02/24   12:07 PM