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7th Annual Conference Of The British HIV Association [BHIVA]27 – 29 April 2001, The Hove Centre, Brighton |
[AUTHOR(S):] N Baxter2, B Moran2, J Welsh2, DR Churchill2, M Fisher2
2 Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, and 2 The Sussex Beacon, Brighton, UK
BHIVA Conf 2001 Apr 27-29;7:O12
INTRODUCTION: In the UK over a third of patients are diagnosed HIV-positive with a CD4 count of <200 cells/µl and, as a result, may not benefit optimally from highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). We investigated whether opportunities for earlier diagnosis had been missed in those patients diagnosed HIV-positive simultaneously with AIDS.
METHODS: The notes of all 70 patients with a new diagnosis of AIDS from 1997 to 2000 were reviewed. Illness prior to AIDS was recorded if it was potentially HIV-related.
RESULTS: Forty-nine patients were eligible for inclusion. Twenty-one were excluded because they had lived or had the HIV diagnosis made outside our health region. Twenty-five had attended hospital before the AIDS diagnosis, and five had been inpatients. Referrals to gastroenterology, dermatology and ear/nose/throat departments predominated. The mean time between first hospital visit and HIV diagnosis was 995 days, median 520 days. Thirteen of the 17 HIV deaths in patients diagnosed HIV-positive during 1997–2000 were from this group. The mean time between HIV diagnosis and death was 202 days, median 69 days. The mean CD4 count at presentation was 76 cells/µl (median 50 cells/µl).
CONCLUSIONS: A high proportion of avoidable deaths were due to late recognition of HIV infection. There is clearly a role for increased education of non-HIV specialists about HIV infection.
PRESENTING AUTHOR: N Baxter
010427
O12
Copyright © 2001 - British HIV Association (BHIVA) Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the BHIVA Organising Secretariat 1 Mountview Court, 310 Friern Barnet Lane, London N20 0LD