June 29, 2009

HIV/AIDS: when is the CDC Classification used and when is the WHO Clinical Staging? Should it be revised?

At first I found guidelines for treatment at http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/

No idea why the CDC Classification isn't easy to access on that website.

At the end I found the tables I was looking for here: http://www.aidsetc.org/aidsetc?page=cm-105_disease


And discovered that, besides the CDC classification, there is a WHO Clinical Staging of HIV/AIDS.

This staging system is used in many countries to determine eligibility for antiretroviral therapy, particularly in settings in which CD4 testing is not available.

Is it used only in developing countries?

Just another point:

I read on the CDC Recommendations for Initiation of Antiviral Therapy that:

Antiretroviral therapy should be initiated in patients with a history of an AIDS-defining illness or with a CD4 T-cell count <350 cells/mm3. The data supporting this recommendation are stronger for those with a CD4 T-cell count <200 cells/mm3 and with a history of AIDS (AI) than for those with CD4 T-cell counts between 200 and 350 cells/mm3 (AII).

Shouldn't the CDC Classification that divides CD4+ count in <200, 200-499 and >500 be revised?

Thanks for any feedback.


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