- Contents
- Editor and Contributing Authors
- Introduction
- Section 1: The HIV Clinic: Providing Quality Care
- Section 2: Testing and Assessment
- Initial History
- Initial Physical Examination
- Initial and Interim Laboratory and Other Tests
- Interim History and Physical Examination
- HIV Classification: CDC and WHO Staging Systems
- CD4 and Viral Load Monitoring
- Risk of HIV Progression/Indications for ART
- Early HIV Infection
- Expedited HIV Testing
- Resistance Testing
- Karnofsky Performance Scale
- Section 3: Health Care Maintenance and Disease Prevention
- Occupational Postexposure Prophylaxis
- Nonoccupational Postexposure Prophylaxis
- Preventing HIV Transmission/Prevention with Positives
- Immunizations for HIV-Infected Adults and Adolescents
- Preventing Exposure to Opportunistic and Other Infections
- Opportunistic Infection Prophylaxis
- Latent Tuberculosis Infection
- Smoking Cessation
- Nutrition
- Section 4: HIV Treatment
- Section 5: Common Complaints
- Section 6: Comorbidities, Coinfections, and Complications
- Abnormalities of Body-Fat Distribution
- Dyslipidemia
- Insulin Resistance, Hyperglycemia, and Diabetes on Antiretroviral Therapy
- Coronary Heart Disease Risk
- Renal Disease
- Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome
- Anal Dysplasia
- Candidiasis, Oral and Esophageal
- Candidiasis, Vulvovaginal
- Cervical Dysplasia
- Cryptococcal Disease
- Cryptosporidiosis
- Cytomegalovirus Disease
- Gonorrhea and Chlamydia
- Hepatitis B Infection
- Hepatitis C Infection
- Herpes Simplex, Mucocutaneous
- Herpes Zoster/Shingles
- Histoplasmosis
- Kaposi Sarcoma
- Molluscum Contagiosum
- Mycobacterium avium Complex Disease
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis
- Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
- Pneumocystis Pneumonia
- Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy
- Seborrheic Dermatitis
- Sinusitis
- Syphilis
- Toxoplasmosis
- Section 7: ARV Interactions and Adverse Events
- Section 8: Neuropsychiatric Disorders
- Section 9: Oral Health
- Section 10: Resources and References
- Search Guide
HIV Classification: CDC and WHO Staging Systems
Publish date: April 2014
Background
HIV disease staging and classification systems are critical tools for tracking and monitoring the HIV epidemic and for providing clinicians and patients with important information about HIV disease stage and clinical management. Two major classification systems currently are in use: the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classification system and the World Health Organization (WHO) Clinical Staging and Disease Classification System.
The CDC disease staging system (most recently revised in 1993) assesses the severity of HIV disease by CD4 cell counts and by the presence of specific HIV-related conditions. The definition of AIDS includes all HIV-infected individuals with CD4 counts of <200 cells/µL (or CD4 percentage <14%) as well as those with certain HIV-related conditions and symptoms. Although the fine points of the classification system rarely are used in the routine clinical management of HIV-infected patients, a working knowledge of the staging criteria (in particular, the definition of AIDS) is useful in patient care. In addition, the CDC system is used in clinical and epidemiologic research.
In contrast to the CDC system, the WHO Clinical Staging and Disease Classification System (revised in 2007) can be used readily in resource-constrained settings without access to CD4 cell count measurements or other diagnostic and laboratory testing methods. The WHO system classifies HIV disease on the basis of clinical manifestations that can be recognized and treated by clinicians in diverse settings, including resource-constrained settings, and by clinicians with varying levels of HIV expertise and training.
S: Subjective
When a patient presents with a diagnosis of HIV infection, review the patient's history to elicit and document any HIV-related illnesses or symptoms (see chapter Initial History).
O: Objective
Perform a complete physical examination and appropriate laboratory studies (see chapters Initial Physical Examination and Initial and Interim Laboratory and Other Tests).
A: Assessment
Confirm HIV infection and perform staging.
P: Plan
Evaluate symptoms, history, physical examination results, and laboratory results, and make a staging classification according to the CDC or WHO criteria (see below).
CDC Classification System for HIV Infection
The CDC categorization of HIV/AIDS is based on the lowest documented CD4 cell count and on previously diagnosed HIV-related conditions (see Table 1). For example, if a patient had a condition that once met the criteria for category B but now is asymptomatic, the patient would remain in category B. Additionally, categorization is based on specific conditions, as indicated below. Patients in categories A3, B3, and C1-C3 are considered to have AIDS.
CD4 Cell Count Categories | Clinical Categories | ||
---|---|---|---|
A Asymptomatic, Acute HIV, or PGL |
B* Symptomatic Conditions, not A or C |
C# AIDS-Indicator Conditions |
|
Abbreviations: PGL = persistent generalized lymphadenopathy |
|||
(1) ≥500 cells/µL | A1 | B1 | C1 |
(2) 200-499 cells/µL | A2 | B2 | C2 |
(3) <200 cells/µL | A3 | B3 | C3 |
* Category B Symptomatic Conditions
Category B symptomatic conditions are defined as symptomatic conditions occurring in an HIV-infected adolescent or adult that meet at least one of the following criteria:
- They are attributed to HIV infection or indicate a defect in cell-mediated immunity.
- They are considered to have a clinical course or management that is complicated by HIV infection.
Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Bacillary angiomatosis
- Oropharyngeal candidiasis (thrush)
- Vulvovaginal candidiasis, persistent or resistant
- Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
- Cervical dysplasia (moderate or severe)/cervical carcinoma in situ
- Hairy leukoplakia, oral
- Herpes zoster (shingles), involving two or more episodes or at least one dermatome
- Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura
- Constitutional symptoms, such as fever (>38.5°C) or diarrhea lasting >1 month
- Peripheral neuropathy
# Category C AIDS-Indicator Conditions
- Bacterial pneumonia, recurrent (two or more episodes in 12 months)
- Candidiasis of the bronchi, trachea, or lungs
- Candidiasis, esophageal
- Cervical carcinoma, invasive, confirmed by biopsy
- Coccidioidomycosis, disseminated or extrapulmonary
- Cryptococcosis, extrapulmonary
- Cryptosporidiosis, chronic intestinal (>1 month in duration)
- Cytomegalovirus disease (other than liver, spleen, or nodes)
- Encephalopathy, HIV-related
- Herpes simplex: chronic ulcers (>1 month in duration), or bronchitis, pneumonitis, or esophagitis
- Histoplasmosis, disseminated or extrapulmonary
- Isosporiasis, chronic intestinal (>1-month in duration)
- Kaposi sarcoma
- Lymphoma, Burkitt, immunoblastic, or primary central nervous system
- Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) or Mycobacterium kansasii, disseminated or extrapulmonary
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis, pulmonary or extrapulmonary
- Mycobacterium, other species or unidentified species, disseminated or extrapulmonary
- Pneumocystis jiroveci (formerly carinii) pneumonia (PCP)
- Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML)
- Salmonella septicemia, recurrent (nontyphoid)
- Toxoplasmosis of brain
- Wasting syndrome caused by HIV (involuntary weight loss >10% of baseline body weight) associated with either chronic diarrhea (two or more loose stools per day for ≥1 month) or chronic weakness and documented fever for ≥1 month
WHO Clinical Staging of HIV/AIDS and Case Definition
The clinical staging and case definition of HIV for resource-constrained settings were developed by the WHO in 1990 and revised in 2007. Staging is based on clinical findings that guide the diagnosis, evaluation, and management of HIV/AIDS, and it does not require a CD4 cell count. This staging system is used in many countries to determine eligibility for antiretroviral therapy, particularly in settings in which CD4 testing is not available. Clinical stages are categorized as 1 through 4, progressing from primary HIV infection to advanced HIV/AIDS (see Table 2). These stages are defined by specific clinical conditions or symptoms. For the purpose of the WHO staging system, adolescents and adults are defined as individuals aged ≥15 years.
Clinical Stage | Clinical Conditions or Symptoms |
---|---|
Primary HIV Infection |
|
Clinical Stage 1 |
|
Clinical Stage 2 |
|
Clinical Stage 3 |
|
Clinical Stage 4 |
|
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 1993 revised classification system for HIV infection and expanded surveillance case definition for AIDS among adolescents and adults. MMWR Recomm Rep. 1992 Dec 18;41(RR-17):1-19. Accessed December 1, 2013.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Guidelines for national human immunodeficiency virus case surveillance, including monitoring for human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. MMWR Recomm Rep. 1999 Dec 10;48(RR-13):1-27, 29-31. Accessed December 1, 2013.
- World Health Organization. WHO Case Definitions of HIV for Surveillance and Revised Clinical Staging and Immunological Classification of HIV-Related Disease in Adults and Children ; 2007.
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Abbreviations for Dosing Terminology
- BID
- twice daily
- BIW
- twice weekly
- IM
- intramuscular (injection), intramuscularly
- IV
- intravenous (injection), intravenously
- PO
- oral, orally
- Q2H, Q4H, etc.
- every 2 hours, every 4 hours, etc.
- QAM
- every morning
- QD
- once daily
- QH
- every hour
- QHS
- every night at bedtime
- QID
- four times daily
- QOD
- every other day
- QPM
- every evening
- TID
- three times daily
- TIW
- three times weekly