Passive hyperimmune therapy: a viable treatment option for the patient with acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

New drugs and therapies are continually emerging in an effort to delay the progression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive status to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). One such treatment is passive hyperimmune therapy (PHT), which was first researched and subsequently published in 1988. Passive hyperimmune therapy involves plasmapheresis of an asymptomatic HIV-positive donor with high p24 antibodies, no detectable p24 antigen, and a helper-inducer T-cell count greater than 400. The plasma is then pooled, sterilized, and administered to symptomatic HIV-positive patients as a monthly intravenous infusion in an effort to provide passive immunotherapy. In this article, an overview of PHT is provided, including benefits, adverse reactions, and other similar therapies available, so that the nurse who cares for HIV-positive patients can continue to be a significant source of information to them.