ORTHOPEDIC COMPLICATIONS IN HIV PATIENTS.

The considerable increase of the life expectancy of HIV-infected patients in the age of highly-powerful antiretroviral treatment results in important metabolic and bone-joint changes resulting from a long-lasting viral infection time and from this treatment. The most common orthopaedic complications are bone mineralization changes, osteonecrosis, carpal tunnel syndrome and gleno-humeral adhesive capsulitis, with different clinical presentation features, natural disease progression and therapeutic response compared to the overall population. Literature reports are initial, and the experience of the multidisciplinary service of the University of Sao Paulo's Institute of Orthopaedics and Traumatology enables us a more indepth knowledge about the various pathologies involved and the development of treatment protocols that are appropriate to these diagnoses.