Q and A

Question

Is CD4 count or CD4 percentage more important?

Does having a high CD4 count of 592 cells/mm3 and a low viral load of 7000 copies/mL, but a CD4 percentage of only 13%, indicate serious immune damage and need of treatment?

Even though CD4 count is high my CD4 percentage is very low.

Thank you, signed, very worried.

Answer

Hi

The first thing is that I would try to stop you worrying. Your CD4 count is very strong, your viral load is low and your CD4 percentage is still also good.

The decision of when to start treatment includes a balance of all three results, and how they change over time. If one changes a little, it is worth continuing to monitor in case it is just a blip results and the next time it is back to normal.

If the trend for any one result suggests treatment – then this may be a reasonable reason to start treatment – whatever the other results.

Even with a high absolute CD4 count (over 350-500), if your CD4 percentage drops below 10% it may therefore be reasonable to start treatment a bit earlier.

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