Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2009 Mar;21(3):322-8.
doi: 10.1080/09540120802183511.

Does "asymptomatic" mean without symptoms for those living with HIV infection?

Suzanne Willard  1 , William L Holzemer, Dean J Wantland, Yvette P Cuca, Kenn M Kirksey, Carmen J Portillo, Inge B Corless, Marta Rivero-Méndez, María E Rosa, Patrice K Nicholas, Mary Jane Hamilton, Elizabeth Sefcik, Jeanne Kemppainen, Gladys Canaval, Linda Robinson, Shahnaz Moezzi, Sarie Human, John Arudo, Lucille Sanzero Eller, Eli Bunch, Pamela J Dole, Christopher Coleman, Kathleen Nokes, Nancy R Reynolds, Yun-Fang Tsai, Mary Maryland, Joachim Voss, Teri Lindgren
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Does "asymptomatic" mean without symptoms for those living with HIV infection?

Suzanne Willard et al. AIDS Care. 2009 Mar.

Abstract

Throughout the history of the HIV epidemic, HIV-positive patients with relatively high CD4 counts and no clinical features of opportunistic infections have been classified as "asymptomatic" by definition and treatment guidelines. This classification, however, does not take into consideration the array of symptoms that an HIV-positive person can experience long before progressing to AIDS. This short report describes two international multi-site studies conducted in 2003-2005 and 2005-2007. The results from the studies show that HIV-positive people may experience symptoms throughout the trajectory of their disease, regardless of CD4 count or classification. Providers should discuss symptoms and symptom management with their clients at all stages of the disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Abel E, Painter L. Factors that influence adherence to HIV medications: perceptions of women and health care providers. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. 2003;14(4):61–69. - PubMed
    1. Ammassari A, Murri R, Pezzotti P, Trotta MP, Ravasio L, De Longis P, et al. Self-reported symptoms and medication side effects influence adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy in persons with HIV infection. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. 2001;28(5):445–449. - PubMed
    1. Classification system for human T-lymphotropic virus type III/lymphadenopathy-associated virus infections. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 1986;35(20):334–339. - PubMed
    1. Corless IB, Nicholas P, Davis S, Dolan S, McGibbon C. Symptom Status and Quality of Life in HIV Disease. Paper presented at the Annual Meetint of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care; San Francisco. 2002.
    1. Corless IB, Voss JG, Nicholas PK, Bunch EH, Bain CA, Coleman C, et al. Fatigue in HIV/AIDS patients with co-morbidities. Applied Nursing Research (In Press) - PubMed

Publication types