Can Progressive Resistive Exercise Improve Weight, Limb Girth, and Strength of Individuals With HIV Disease?

<LEAP> highlights the findings and application of Cochrane reviews and other evidence pertinent to the practice of physical therapy. The Cochrane Library is a respected source of reliable evidence related to health care. Cochrane systematic reviews explore the evidence for and against the effectiveness and appropriateness of interventions—medications, surgery, education, nutrition, exercise—and the evidence for and against the use of diagnostic tests for specific conditions. Cochrane reviews are designed to facilitate the decisions of clinicians, patients, and others in health care by providing a careful review and interpretation of research studies published in the scientific literature.¹ Each article in this PTJ series summarizes a Cochrane review or other scientific evidence on a single topic and presents clinical scenarios based on real patients or programs to illustrate how the results of the review can be used to directly inform clinical decisions. This article focuses on an adult patient with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease. Could a physical therapist–guided progressive resistive exercise (PRE) program improve body weight, body composition, and strength in an individual with HIV disease?

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease is caused by infection with the HIV retrovirus. If untreated, HIV infection results in progressive immune suppression and subsequent opportunistic infections that are the cause of death in most cases of untreated HIV disease. Advanced HIV disease is known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Advances in medical treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and prevention efforts have led to substantial declines in new cases and AIDS-related deaths since the late 1990s. Many patients who access and adhere to long-term use of HAART can achieve a normal life expectancy.^2,3 However, the complexity of the disease and potential side effects of HAART make successful disease management a challenge for many individuals. Increased longevity in the …