While many countries of the world are experiencing epidemics of AIDS, Lithuania is one of those countries where HIV incidence among children is very low. Paediatric HIV didn’t seem to be a problem for many years in Lithuania, unfortunately the epidemiological situation has changed recently. The rise in the number of HIV-infected women in Lithuania has led to the emergence of new cases of congenital HIV infection. Perinatally transmitted infection is the main cause of paediatric HIV in Lithuania, therefore, in order to manage the spread of HIV infection in children, all possible perinatal HIV prevention measures should be taken.
Over the past decade, the treatment of HIV infection has gradually evolved. At present, many countries in the world have adopted a new, so-called revolutionary, treatment strategy, which is the treatment of all HIV-intected people, regardless of their CD4 cell count. Early antiretroviral therapy has been shown to signiftcantly improve the health status of HIV-intected people. So far, the guidelines for treatment of HIV that do not comply with modern European standards are still being used in Lithuania. The treatment of pediatric patients has highlighted not only the importance of new treatment guidelines, but also raised many other challenges that need to be addressed to improve the quality of life and long-term health of HIV-infected children. This article reviews new trends in paediatric HIV care in Lithuania
