A New Prognostic Staging System for the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Abstract
An improved prognostic staging system is needed for patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). To construct such a system, we analyzed the course of 117 consecutive adults who received a diagnosis of AIDS at Yale–New Haven Hospital from 1981 through 1987. The staging system was developed from the data on the first 76 patients, confirmed in the remaining 41 patients, and then applied to the entire cohort.