HIV antibody test should be a routine investigation for undiagnosed pneumonia

EDITOR,—The General Medical Council's booklets Duties of a Doctor set out the basic essentials of good medical practice for three topics—confidentiality, advertising, and HIV infection and AIDS.1 2 3 Having a separate booklet about HIV infection perpetuates the myth that this is different from all other conditions.

A 37 year old man was referred with a three week history of cough, fever, and weight loss. A chest x ray film was normal one week into the illness. He had basal crepitations and bilateral shadowing in …