A wide variety of monitoring tests are available to help gauge HIV disease progression and the state of overall health. HIV viral load tests provide a picture of viral activity, while CD4 cell counts shed light on the status of the immune system and can help physicians predict -- and therefore prevent -- the development of opportunistic illnesses (OIs). These tests can help guide treatment decisions and indicate whether treatment is working. Viral load tests and CD4 cell counts offer a more accurate representation of HIV activity and disease progression than older, indirect surrogate markers -- such as beta-2 microglobulin and neopterin -- that are no longer commonly used. In addition, general tests such as the complete blood count, the blood chemistry panel, and blood sugar and lipid (fat) tests can help keep track of side effects such as low blood cell counts, liver toxicity, and elevated triglyceride and cholesterol levels. Other tests, such as genotypic and phenotypic resistance assays and therapeutic drug monitoring, can help optimize anti-HIV therapy.

Hear what life with a health condition actually looks like. Now in one app. Built for people living with chronic and rare conditions. Almost all the laboratory tests described in this article require a blood sample; fortunately, a single sample often can be used for several different assays. Typically, a person with HIV or his or her physician will receive a report that combines several test results, GlycoModeBloodSugar.com along with normal or "reference" ranges. In many cases, a person should receive initial tests as soon as possible after an HIV diagnosis to establish a baseline against which future tests may be compared. In general, most monitoring tests should be performed every 3-6 months or so. Results obtained by different laboratories and codeforweb.org different test methods can vary greatly, and results may even vary from day to day at the same lab. Tests should preferably be done at the same lab using the same procedure each time, to allow for more accurate comparisons. Many factors -- such as time of day, recent vaccinations, and concurrent infections such as the flu -- may influence test results.

A test that returns an unexplained or unexpected result should be repeated. A single abnormal lab result is not always cause for concern; upward and downward trends over time are usually more important. Whole blood is made up of various types of cells suspended in a liquid called plasma. The complete blood count (CBC) is an inventory of the different cellular components of the blood: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. This test is important because people with HIV may have low blood cell counts (cytopenias) due to chronic HIV infection or as a side effect of medications, particularly drugs that damage the bone marrow, where all blood cells are produced. Blood cell counts are typically reported as the number of cells in a cubic millimeter of blood (cells/mm³) or as a percentage of all blood cells. Most experts recommend that people with HIV should receive a CBC about every six months, and more often if they are experiencing symptoms or taking drugs associated with low blood cell counts.

Red blood cells (erythrocytes) carry oxygen from the lungs to the body's cells, bound to a molecule called hemoglobin. Anemia is a condition characterized by a reduction in the number of red blood cells, often leaving a person fatigued, weak, and short of breath. Anemia is common in HIV positive people. HIV itself and various OIs such as Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) can affect red blood cells and their oxygen-carrying capacity. In addition, drugs such as AZT (zidovudine, Retrovir) may lead to low red blood cell counts due to bone marrow suppression, while other medications such as ribavirin (used to treat hepatitis C) can directly destroy red blood cells (hemolysis). Several tests are used to help diagnose various types of anemia. Red Blood Cell Count (RBC): the total number of red blood cells in a quantity of blood. Normal ranges are 4.5-6.0 million cells/mm³ for men and 4.0-5.5 million cells/mm³ for women.

Get our weekly newsletter covering all things HIV. Hematocrit (HCT): the proportion of red blood cells as a percentage of total blood volume. A normal hematocrit is 40-55% for men and 35-45% for women. Hemoglobin (HGB): the number of grams of hemoglobin in a deciliter of blood (g/dL). Normal levels in healthy adults are 14-18 g/dL for men and 12-16 g/dL for women. As a rough guideline, hemoglobin should be about one-third the hematocrit. Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH) and MCH Concentration (MCHC): the amount or concentration, respectively, of hemoglobin in an average red blood cell. Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV): the average size, or volume, of individual red blood cells. Red Blood Cell Distribution Width (RDW): a measure of the size and uniformity of red blood cells. White blood cells (leukocytes) carry out the body's immune responses. The CBC looks at numbers of various different types of white blood cells. White Blood Cell Count (WBC): the total number of white blood cells in a quantity of blood.