Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Despite the decline in the incidence of central nervous system disease associated with HIV, distal sensory peripheral DSP neuropathy continues to be prevalent in this population, causing debilitating symptoms and affecting quality of life. Patients typically present with numbness, tingling, burning pain, and loss of sensation in the toes and soles of their feet.
Although this complication causes loss of protective function and puts patients at elevated risk for injury, infection, and falls, foot care for people with HIV is often overlooked. This article reviews what is known about DSP neuropathy in HIV and discusses relevant foot care guidelines, adopted from the literature on other conditions associated with neuropathic foot disorders.
Keywords: distal sensory peripheral neuropathy, foot care, HIV, peripheral neuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy, a condition characterized by damaged sensory or motor peripheral nerves, may cause pain, sensory loss, or muscle weakness. Peripheral neuropathy may develop as a result of diabetes, physical injury, tumors, certain medications, heavy alcohol use, certain inherited disorders, autoimmune disease, vitamin deficiencies, and such infectious diseases as HIV.
Presenting symptoms of DSP neuropathy in HIV typically include bilateral and symmetric tingling, burning, or loss of feeling in the toes and soles of the feet. Common signs include decreased or absent ankle reflexes, impaired pain and temperature perception, reduced or absent vibration sensation in the toes, and occasional intrinsic muscle weakness.
The symptoms can cause extreme discomfort, affecting employment, emotional health, independence, and quality of life. Foot care for people living with HIV is often overlooked as a clinical issue. Decreased sensation in the feet may lead to injuries and infections that go unnoticed.
