Late presentation among patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection in Turkey

Mete, Bilgul/0000-0001-9091-6087 WOS:000490537600010 PubMed ID: 31580559 Objective: Late presentation of the patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is associated with less favourable treatment responses, more accelerated clinical progression, and a higher mortality risk. Although HIV prevalence is low in Turkey, it is steadily increasing and the information about late presentation among HIV-positives is limited. We aimed to analyze the status of late presentation among HIV-positive patients in Turkey. Methods: All newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS patients from 2003 to 2016 were enrolled in this study by five dedicated centres in Istanbul, Turkey. Demographic data, CD4+ counts, and HIV RNA were collected from medical records and were transferred to a HIV database system. Late presentation was defined as presentation for care with a CD4 count