HIV/AIDS NCLEX Final Exam Review: 100
Questions with Rationales (2025/2026)
## Sample HIV/AIDS NCLEX Questions with Rationales
### Question 1: ART Effectiveness
**The nurse is evaluating a client diagnosed with HIV to assess the effectiveness of
antiretroviral therapy (ART). Which outcome does the nurse expect if the client is taking ART as
prescribed?**
A) High viral load count
B) Healthy immune system
C) Low CD4 T cell count
D) Drug resistance
**Answer: B**
**Rationale:** Effective ART suppresses HIV replication, leading to an undetectable viral load
and preservation or restoration of immune function. A high viral load, low CD4 count, or drug
resistance would indicate treatment failure or nonadherence, not effectiveness .
---
### Question 2: HIV Testing Recommendations
, **The nurse presents a seminar on HIV testing to a group of seniors in an assisted living facility.
Which responses fit the CDC's recommendations for HIV testing? (Select all that apply.)**
A) "I am 78 years old and I was treated and cured of syphilis many years ago."
B) "In 1986, I received a transfusion of platelets."
C) "Seven years ago, I was released from a penitentiary."
D) "I used to smoke marijuana 30 years ago."
E) "I had sex with a man with a disreputable past back in the late 1960s."
F) "At 68, I am going to get married for the fourth time."
G) "Downtown was where I picked up the best hookers back in the 1950s."
**Answer: A, C, F**
**Rationale:** HIV testing is recommended for people who have had sexually transmitted
diseases (A), been in jails or prisons (C), or are planning to get married (F). Blood transfusions
between 1978 and 1985 are a risk factor, but a 1986 transfusion falls outside this window (B).
Marijuana use is not a risk factor (D). AIDS cases were extremely rare prior to the 1970s, so
exposures in the 1950s and 1960s are not relevant (E, G) .
---
### Question 3: Pneumocystis Pneumonia and ADLs
**A client with AIDS is experiencing shortness of breath related to Pneumocystis jiroveci
pneumonia. Which measure should the nurse include in the plan of care to assist the client in
performing activities of daily living?**
Questions with Rationales (2025/2026)
## Sample HIV/AIDS NCLEX Questions with Rationales
### Question 1: ART Effectiveness
**The nurse is evaluating a client diagnosed with HIV to assess the effectiveness of
antiretroviral therapy (ART). Which outcome does the nurse expect if the client is taking ART as
prescribed?**
A) High viral load count
B) Healthy immune system
C) Low CD4 T cell count
D) Drug resistance
**Answer: B**
**Rationale:** Effective ART suppresses HIV replication, leading to an undetectable viral load
and preservation or restoration of immune function. A high viral load, low CD4 count, or drug
resistance would indicate treatment failure or nonadherence, not effectiveness .
---
### Question 2: HIV Testing Recommendations
, **The nurse presents a seminar on HIV testing to a group of seniors in an assisted living facility.
Which responses fit the CDC's recommendations for HIV testing? (Select all that apply.)**
A) "I am 78 years old and I was treated and cured of syphilis many years ago."
B) "In 1986, I received a transfusion of platelets."
C) "Seven years ago, I was released from a penitentiary."
D) "I used to smoke marijuana 30 years ago."
E) "I had sex with a man with a disreputable past back in the late 1960s."
F) "At 68, I am going to get married for the fourth time."
G) "Downtown was where I picked up the best hookers back in the 1950s."
**Answer: A, C, F**
**Rationale:** HIV testing is recommended for people who have had sexually transmitted
diseases (A), been in jails or prisons (C), or are planning to get married (F). Blood transfusions
between 1978 and 1985 are a risk factor, but a 1986 transfusion falls outside this window (B).
Marijuana use is not a risk factor (D). AIDS cases were extremely rare prior to the 1970s, so
exposures in the 1950s and 1960s are not relevant (E, G) .
---
### Question 3: Pneumocystis Pneumonia and ADLs
**A client with AIDS is experiencing shortness of breath related to Pneumocystis jiroveci
pneumonia. Which measure should the nurse include in the plan of care to assist the client in
performing activities of daily living?**
