An HIV-positive patient asks you if you can tell him the chances of him progressing to symptomatic AIDS. Which one of the following tests would be most useful?
CD4 lymphocyte count
HIV antibody test
HIV PCR
Neopterin
HIV PCR, a nucleic acid amplification test for HIV RNA, has recently been shown to be the most valuable test for: monitoring a patient's progress during triple drug therapy and determining the chances of progression to AIDS. A viral load of 750,000 copies per ml significantly increases the chance of progression to AIDS within 5 years. The other tests listed do not accurately predict progression to AIDS.
Virology (RNA Virus Pa-1,2 & Miscellaneous Viruses)