The traumatic sequelae of surviving the AIDS crisis: A case report

Abstract

Background

The HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s was catastrophic, both in the scope of morbidity and mortality, as well as in the lasting implications for those who survived. As the introduction of effective antiretroviral treatment restructured the perception of HIV, which is now a manageable, chronic disease, the pattern of psychological sequelae that long-term survivors may experience has become a growing field of inquiry.

Case Presentation

We present the case of a 59-year-old male who was diagnosed with HIV in 1991, a time when the diagnosis carried a terminal prognosis and the United States had seen over 150,000 AIDS-related deaths. Although the patient ultimately survived, he experienced a cascade of psychological symptoms over the subsequent 29 years, with detriment to emotional, interpersonal, and occupational domains. During his initial evaluation, the source of these symptoms was initially overlooked due to the lack of adequate screening for trauma- and stressor-related symptoms secondary to his experiences during the HIV/AIDS crisis. Once the source of the symptoms was identified, utilization of targeted psychotherapy resulted in substantial improvement.

Conclusion

Although there are existing formulations regarding psychological syndromes in this context, including Survivor Guilt, Lazarus Syndrome, and AIDS Survivor Syndrome, there is currently insufficient literature to adequately characterize this presentation, and, with an aging population of long-term HIV survivors, further characterization of the syndrome to facilitate accurate screening and assessment is paramount in ensuring appropriate treatment in this population.

Keywords:

• HIV
• AIDS
• survivor guilt
• Lazarus Syndrome
• AIDS survivor syndrome

Disclosure statement

Authors have no financial disclosures or conflicts of interests.

Ethics Statement

Identifying details have been changed to protect patient confidentiality.