Human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients in an emergency department: a case-control study

Callejas Pérez S

Objectives: To compare the profiles of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected and

uninfected patients who come to our hospital emergency department. Characteristics

compared included the reasons for seeking care, frequency of use, and discharge diagnoses.

Material and methods: Analytic, observational case-control study of 117 HIV-infected

patients and 117 HIV-negative patients. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were

calculated for all variables. The ÷2 statistic was calculated for qualitative variables.

Bivariate analysis was used to explore the degree of association between independent

and dependent variables. A multivariate logistic regression model was constructed by

including variables that reached a significance level of P<.2 in the bivariate analysis (Hosmer and Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test). Results: The average HIV-positive patient was profiled as a 40-year-old Spanish male who was a smoker, an alcoholic, and an intravenous drug user. Fever was the main reason for seeking emergency care. Infections not considered to define AIDS were the most common discharge diagnoses. HIV-infected patients were more often admitted to hospital than were control patients, although control patients came to the emergency department more often. Conclusions: The reasons HIV-infected patients use our hospital emergency department are currently unrelated to their viral infection.

Callejas Pérez S