Treatment of anemia in patients with HIV infection, Part 1: The need for adequate guidelines.

Anemia in HIV-infected individuals, still a common hematologic complication in the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era, is associated with shortened survival, increases in the rate of disease progression, and reduction in quality of life. Based on a thorough review of the literature, guidelines were developed for the assessment, diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of anemia in patients with HIV/AIDS by a consensus committee consisting of nurses from academia and clinical practice. A major goal of this committee is to increase awareness within the nursing community of the prevalence of anemia in HIV-infected patients and its impact on their lives. Anemia developed in close to 90% of HIV-infected patients before the introduction of HAART, and it is still found in up to 46% of patients in the HAART era. Another goal is to encourage screening for anemia and the adaptation of a proposed classification system of anemia based on a graded decrease in hemoglobin levels.