When an employee is HIV positive.

The occupational health nurse is the primary workplace educator in the HIV pandemic. The policies and methods used to manage the employee with HIV must protect the confidentiality of the employee without discrimination. The occupational health nurse has a unique responsibility to monitor the disease progression and respond with appropriate recommendations for psychological support, AIDS resources, employee medical leave, and disability benefits. In addition, the occupational health nurse plays a pivotal role with the primary caregiver in clinical management of the employee at the worksite.

A phase II controlled study of a combination of the immune modulator, lentinan, with didanosine (ddI) in HIV patients with CD4 cells of 200-500/mm3.

This study was carried out to assess the safety and efficacy of a combination of lentinan, an immune modulator, and didanosine (ddI) in a controlled study in HIV positive patients with CD4 levels of 200-500 cells/mm3. Didanosine was administered to HIV patients at doses of 400 mg/day (po) for six weeks (bid), then 2 mg of lentinan i.v. was added per week for 24-80 weeks. A control group (20%) received ddI only. A total of 107 patients were enrolled at three sites, and 88 patients started the ddI/lentinan phase. The combination caused significant increases in CD4 levels up to 38 weeks, whereas ddI alone was significant at the 5% level at 14 weeks. Based on these data, lentinan qualifies as a participant in future multi-drug studies in HIV.