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Characteristics and Presenting Complaints of Outpatients With Undiagnosed HIV Infection
- Source :
- JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. 37:1520-1528
- Publication Year :
- 2004
- Publisher :
- Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health), 2004.
-
Abstract
- HIV testing of individuals presenting to outpatient medical clinics has generally been based upon a selection system, with testing limited to those having signs or symptoms previously found associated with HIV-1 infection among hospitalized patients. However, little is known about the efficacy of this approach, particularly in Africa. Among patients presenting to a large outpatient infectious disease clinic in Dakar, Senegal, the utility of using specific demographic and behavioral characteristics and individual presenting complaints to identify individuals with previously undiagnosed HIV-1 or HIV-2 infection was examined. Using a simple statistical approach, a composite screening rule was estimated to identify subjects with the highest probability of testing HIV positive, ie, patients who would most benefit from HIV testing. Using the presenting complaint allows identification of 83% of HIV-infected women by testing only 35% of women presenting to the clinic. Similarly, using the presenting complaint and various demographic and behavioral characteristics, it was possible to identify 84% of HIV-infected men by screening 40% of men presenting to the clinic. This study suggests that this method might provide a cost-effective approach that permits limited screening resources to be spent in a way that maximizes individual and societal benefit.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
Pediatrics
medicine.medical_specialty
Adolescent
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
HIV Infections
Hiv testing
medicine.disease_cause
Ambulatory Care Facilities
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
Immunopathology
medicine
Humans
Pharmacology (medical)
Sida
Aged
biology
business.industry
Patient Selection
Middle Aged
medicine.disease
biology.organism_classification
Senegal
Cross-Sectional Studies
Infectious Diseases
HIV-2
Ambulatory
Immunology
Lentivirus
HIV-1
Female
Viral disease
business
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15254135
- Volume :
- 37
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....1c60d57297e3c44b36a919d882c0403e