TY - JOUR
T1 - Trends in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among a patient population of an inner-city emergency department
T2 - Implications for emergency department–based screening programs for HIV infection
AU - Kelen, Gabor D.
AU - Hexter, David A.
AU - Hansen, Karen N.
AU - Tang, Nelson
AU - Pretorius, Scott
AU - Quinn, Thomas C.
PY - 1995/10
Y1 - 1995/10
N2 - Personnel of inner-city emergency departments (EDs), which are frequently the only source of medical care for many patients, may be in a unique position to detect human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection earlier than personnel at other recommended screening sites. To assist development of ED-based screening strategies for HIV infection, we undertook a serosurvey of HIV infection in adult patients attending an ED during a 6-week period in 1992 using an identity-unlinked technique and compared our findings with data collected similarly in 1988. Of 1,606 patients, 183 (11.4%) were HIV-positive, compared with 6.0% in 1988. Seroprevalence rates of HIV infection among patients only at risk of heterosexual transmission increased more than fourfold (7% to 30.3%). CD4+. cell counts were higher in those patients with undiagnosed HIV infection than in those with known HIV infection. Targeting minority patients aged 25–44 years, intravenous drug users, and those patients at heterosexual risk would have identified 87% of patients with new HIV infection, while requiring screening of 41% of the study sample. Targeted voluntary screening programs in certain EDs would likely detect significant numbers of new early HIV infections.
AB - Personnel of inner-city emergency departments (EDs), which are frequently the only source of medical care for many patients, may be in a unique position to detect human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection earlier than personnel at other recommended screening sites. To assist development of ED-based screening strategies for HIV infection, we undertook a serosurvey of HIV infection in adult patients attending an ED during a 6-week period in 1992 using an identity-unlinked technique and compared our findings with data collected similarly in 1988. Of 1,606 patients, 183 (11.4%) were HIV-positive, compared with 6.0% in 1988. Seroprevalence rates of HIV infection among patients only at risk of heterosexual transmission increased more than fourfold (7% to 30.3%). CD4+. cell counts were higher in those patients with undiagnosed HIV infection than in those with known HIV infection. Targeting minority patients aged 25–44 years, intravenous drug users, and those patients at heterosexual risk would have identified 87% of patients with new HIV infection, while requiring screening of 41% of the study sample. Targeted voluntary screening programs in certain EDs would likely detect significant numbers of new early HIV infections.
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U2 - 10.1093/clinids/21.4.867
DO - 10.1093/clinids/21.4.867
M3 - Article
C2 - 8645832
AN - SCOPUS:0028809907
SN - 1058-4838
VL - 21
SP - 867
EP - 875
JO - Clinical Infectious Diseases
JF - Clinical Infectious Diseases
IS - 4
ER -