Table 1.

Suggestions for Improving Use of the Consensus Definition

ACTION POINTS
Issue		Potential Solution
1	The CD4 threshold of 350 is being increasingly questioned as the biomedical justification grows for earlier initiation of treatment.	Document the existing CD4 threshold of 350, even if other CD4 thresholds are introduced, to allow for more consistent comparisons across studies.
2	CD4 evaluations are conducted at multiple services providing HIV care, thus it remains unclear to which service the patient is presenting late.	Specify that the consensus definition evaluates “late presentation to CD4 evaluation” and report where the CD4 evaluation was conducted to clarify the range of services to which individuals may be presenting late.
3	The limited availability of CD4 evaluations restricts its use in determining the prevalence of LP in many settings.	Report the percentage of patients for which CD4 evaluations was not available. Doing so will establish the scope of missing data.