Guidelines for Managing Advanced HIV Disease and Rapid Initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy

In 2016, WHO published its consolidated guidelines on the use of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for treating and preventing HIV infection. As part of this revision, WHO recognized that, as antiretroviral therapy (ART) is scaled up and countries adopt the “treat all” policy, ART services
will need to be differentiated to provide adapted packages of care to people living with HIV with varied clinical needs.

The objectives of these guidelines are to provide recommendations outlining a public health approach to managing people presenting with advanced HIV disease, and to provide guidance on the timing of initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all people living with HIV. To develop these recommendations, WHO convened a Guideline Development Group in March 2017. Using the evidence generated through two systematic reviews, the GRADE process was used to determine the strength of the recommendation and quality of the evidence.