Current recommendations for initiation of antiretroviral therapy in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) are based on CD4 T-lymphocyte cell counts and plasma HIV RNA levels. The relative prognostic value of each marker following initiation of therapy has not been fully characterized.
Director, AIDS Research Programme, St Paul's Hospital/University of British Columbia, 667-1081 Burrard St, Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 1Y6, Canada.