VA BENEFITS REFERENCE
DC 6351: HIV-Related Illness
Read VA diagnostic code 6351 for HIV-related illness: published criteria, regulatory notes, related codes and official sources checked October 25, 2026.
Published criteria from 38 CFR 4.88b, current through 2026-10-22. Historical decisions may require a different version. This reference does not diagnose a condition or determine an evaluation.
Infectious Diseases, Immune Disorders and Nutritional Deficiencies · All Diagnostic Codes
DC 6351: HIV-Related Illness
Diagnostic code 6351 addresses HIV-related illness. Read its specific instructions together with any shared formula, notes and linked provisions. These criteria describe evaluation after the applicable entitlement requirements are met; this reference does not diagnose a condition or determine a claim.
| Rating | |
|---|---|
| 6351 HIV-related illness: | |
| AIDS with recurrent opportunistic infections (see Note 3) or with secondary diseases afflicting multiple body systems; HIV-related illness with debility and progressive weight loss | 100 |
| Refractory constitutional symptoms, diarrhea, and pathological weight loss; or minimum rating following development of AIDS-related opportunistic infection or neoplasm | 60 |
| Recurrent constitutional symptoms, intermittent diarrhea, and use of approved medication(s); or minimum rating with T4 cell count less than 200 | 30 |
| Following development of HIV-related constitutional symptoms; T4 cell count between 200 and 500; use of approved medication(s); or with evidence of depression or memory loss with employment limitations | 10 |
| Asymptomatic, following initial diagnosis of HIV infection, with or without lymphadenopathy or decreased T4 cell count | 0 |
| Note 1: In addition to standard therapies and regimens, the term “approved medication(s)” includes treatment regimens and medications prescribed as part of a research protocol at an accredited medical institution. | |
| Note 2: Diagnosed psychiatric illness, central nervous system manifestations, opportunistic infections, and neoplasms may be rated separately under the appropriate diagnostic codes if a higher overall evaluation results, provided the disability symptoms do not overlap with evaluations otherwise assignable above. | |
| Note 3: The following list of opportunistic infections are considered AIDS-defining conditions, that is, a diagnosis of AIDS follows if a person has HIV and one more of these infections, regardless of the CD4 count-candidiasis of the bronchi, trachea, esophagus, or lungs; invasive cervical cancer; coccidioidomycosis; cryptococcosis; cryptosporidiosis; cytomegalovirus (particularly CMV retinitis); HIV-related encephalopathy; herpes simplex-chronic ulcers for greater than one month, or bronchitis, pneumonia, or esophagitis; histoplasmosis; isosporiasis (chronic intestinal); Kaposi's sarcoma; lymphoma; mycobacterium avium complex; tuberculosis; pneumocystis jirovecii (carinii) pneumonia; pneumonia, recurrent; progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy; salmonella septicemia, recurrent; toxoplasmosis of the brain; and wasting syndrome due to HIV. |
What The Criteria Measure
- Does the decision identify diagnostic code 6351, and does the medical record describe the condition named by this code?
- Do records identify the treatment, procedure and relevant dates that the provision actually distinguishes?
- Do records describe the functional or work effects addressed by the criteria without assuming an outcome?
- Have the code-specific notes and cross-references been read before comparing any listed evaluation?
Related Public DBQs
Editorial subject matches, not official VA code-to-form assignments. Read the form scope and clinician instructions.
Shared Rules And Regulatory Context
Context provisions do not create an additional evaluation automatically assigned to every condition.
Related Guides
Official Sources
Last verified 2026-10-25. Source publication or legal effective dates are shown separately where available.
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