Denver HIV Risk Score Calculator
Quantify a patient's undiagnosed HIV risk using the Denver HIV Risk Score. Enter six demographic and behavioural variables to get a total score — a score of 4 or above indicates high risk and recommends HIV testing.
Age group
Male sex
Black race / ethnicity
Male sex with male partners (MSM)
Heterosexual risk behavior in past year
Injection drug use (IDU), ever
Score ≥ 4: recommend HIV testing (sensitivity ~95 %, specificity ~40 %)
- 1
Age group points
118–21 = 0, 22–29 = +1, 30–39 = +2, 40–49 = +3, ≥ 50 = +2. - 2
Behavioral & demographic factors
male(0) + Black(0) + MSM(0) + sex risk(0) + IDU(0) = 0 - 3
Denver HIV Risk Score
1 + 0 = 1Score ≥ 4 recommends HIV testing (sensitivity ~95 %).
How does this calculator work?
The Denver HIV Risk Score sums points for age (0–3), male sex (+1), Black race (+1), MSM behavior (+1), heterosexual risk (+1), and injection drug use (+1), giving a total from 0 to 8. A score of ≥ 4 recommends HIV testing — at this threshold the tool has ~95 % sensitivity for undiagnosed HIV in ED patients (Haukoos et al., 2012).
Formula
How this is calculated
The Denver HIV Risk Score (DHRS) is a validated integer scoring tool derived and validated by Haukoos et al. (Ann Emerg Med, 2012) for use in emergency department HIV screening programmes. It assigns points for six independently predictive risk factors: age group (peak at 40–49 years, scored 0–3), male sex (+1), Black race or ethnicity (+1), male-to-male sexual contact (+1), recent heterosexual risk behaviour such as unprotected sex with an HIV-positive or unknown-status partner (+1), and ever having injected drugs (+1). The six point values are summed to produce a total from 0 to 8.
At a threshold of ≥ 4, the score achieves approximately 95 % sensitivity and 40 % specificity for identifying patients with previously undiagnosed HIV in a diverse inner-city ED population. The low specificity is deliberate: the tool is intended to catch the vast majority of cases rather than exclude people with true infection. Only patients scoring ≥ 4 are routinely recommended for HIV testing under this protocol, though many institutions test all patients regardless.
Limitations: the score was derived from a specific US urban population and may perform differently in other settings. It does not capture all risk factors (e.g. perinatal exposure, blood transfusion history, occupational exposure). A score below 4 does not rule out HIV. Clinical judgment, local epidemiology, and patient preference should all inform testing decisions.
Frequently asked questions
A score of ≥ 4 is the recommended testing threshold: at this cut-off the tool has approximately 95 % sensitivity, meaning it correctly identifies most patients with undiagnosed HIV. It does not mean the patient has HIV — it means a test is clinically warranted.
Race is included because, in the US population where the score was derived, Black individuals had significantly higher rates of undiagnosed HIV infection — a disparity driven by structural health inequities, not biological differences. The score reflects real-world epidemiology to improve sensitivity in high-risk populations.
No. A low score reduces the likelihood that routine screening will detect infection, but does not rule out HIV. Any patient with specific risk exposures, clinical symptoms consistent with acute HIV, or a personal request should still be tested regardless of score.
Also known as
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). Denver HIV Risk Score Calculator [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/denver-hiv-risk-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "Denver HIV Risk Score Calculator." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/denver-hiv-risk-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "Denver HIV Risk Score Calculator," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/denver-hiv-risk-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_denver_hiv_risk_calculator, title = {Denver HIV Risk Score Calculator}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/denver-hiv-risk-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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