Infectious Disease Section 5.4 – HIV Medications
Real Life Pharmacology - Pharmacology Education for Health Care Professionals
Eric Christianson, PharmD; Pharmacology Expert and Clinical Pharmacist
4.9 • 773 Ratings
🗓️ 1 June 2026
⏱️ 19 minutes
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Summary
Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, remains one of the most important infectious diseases in modern healthcare, but advances in antiretroviral therapy have transformed it from a fatal diagnosis into a manageable chronic condition for many patients. In this episode, we’ll break down the major medication classes used to treat HIV, discuss how these drugs work, review key adverse effects and drug interactions, and highlight practical nursing considerations that impact patient safety and adherence. Whether you work in acute care, outpatient practice, long-term care, or public health, understanding HIV pharmacology is essential to providing compassionate, evidence-based care for patients living with HIV and AIDS.
You can find the full 16+ hour nursing pharmacology review course, including PDF handouts, cheat sheets, practice questions, and on-demand videos at meded101.com!
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I hope you enjoy this review and find it helpful in your studies. You can get full ad-free access to the Med-Ead-101 |
| 0:08.8 | Nursing Pharmacology Review course at Med-Ead-101.com slash nurse. Med-Ead 101's Nursing Pharmacology Review |
| 0:18.0 | course is built to make meds finally click. |
| 0:21.6 | You'll get nearly 20 hours of ad-free, on-demand video lessons, |
| 0:26.3 | downloadable slides you can study from, |
| 0:28.6 | over 40 cheat sheets and study guides, |
| 0:31.3 | and practice questions to assess what you know. |
| 0:34.9 | Whether you're preparing for exams or building real-world confidence, this course is |
| 0:39.8 | designed by pharmacology experts for nurses. Stop memorizing, start understanding pharmacology |
| 0:46.7 | at meded101.com slash nurse. In this section, I'm going to cover the basics of HIV infection. |
| 0:55.6 | So first off, what is HIV? It is human immunodeficiency virus. So it's a viral infection. |
| 1:03.1 | It attacks the immune system. So, I mean, the name kind of says it a little bit there. |
| 1:11.0 | Specifically, the name kind of says it a little bit there. Specifically, the important part or piece of the immune system are CD4 T cells. |
| 1:20.8 | Okay, so these are play a critical role in the functioning of the immune system and the virus attacks these cells. |
| 1:29.7 | Ultimately, if untreated, HIV progresses over time, usually the course of years, |
| 1:37.1 | to weaken the immune system. |
| 1:40.2 | And what happens is patients end up dying from opportunistic infections or certain cancers, again, |
| 1:47.1 | if left untreated. HIV is transmitted through blood, sexual contact, potentially during |
| 1:54.9 | pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding. Without treatment, HIV can eventually progress to what's classified as AIDS-acquired |
| 2:05.0 | immunodeficiency syndrome. And this is ultimately in the most severe stage of infection, |
| 2:10.8 | where we start seeing some of those opportunistic infections or cancers show up. |
| 2:18.7 | All right. Important nurse monitoring just from a big, broad overview here to start. |
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