Some data indicate that high HIV RNA levels (i.e., >299,000 copies/mL) in infants aged <12 months may be correlated with disease progression and death; however, RNA levels in infants who have rapid disease progression and those who do not have overlapped considerably (23, 36).
High RNA levels (i.e., levels of >100,000 copies/mL) in infants also have been associated with high risk for disease progression and mortality, particularly if CD4+ T cell percentage is <15% (38).
Similar findings have been reported in analysis of data from PACTG protocol 152 correlating baseline virologic data with risk for disease progression or death during study follow-up (Table 4 in the Guidelines) (39). In this study, the relative risk for disease progression was reduced by 54% for each 1 log10 decrease in baseline HIV RNA level.