Determining the Clinical Severity of Protease-Inhibitor Associated Lipodystrophy

 

The authors used a self-reporting questionnaire to be completed by the patient. They felt that the patient's self assessment of his or her clinical appearance would be more likely to influence the treatment decisions. The questionnaire used by the authors is available by contacting Dr Carr (acarr@stvincents.com.au).

 

Assessment:

(1) peripheral wasting: 4 sites evaluated

(2) central fat accumulation: 2 sites evaluated

 

Sites assessed for wasting:

(1) face

(2) arms

(3) buttocks

(4) legs

 

Sites assessed for fat accumulation:

(1) abdomen

(2) dorsal neck (dorsocervical fat pad)

Severity of Regional Involvement	Points
none	0
mild	1
moderate	2
severe	3

 

clinical severity score =

= SUM(points for wasting in 4 regions) + SUM(points for fat accumulation in 2 regions)

 

Interpretation:

• minimum score: 0

• maximum score: 18

 

Points	Severity of Lipodystrophy
0	none
1 - 6	mild
7 - 12	moderate
13 - 18	severe