HIV-related emergencies: Frequency, diagnoses, and outcome Journal Article
| Authors: | Chang, R.; Wong, G.; Gold, J.; Armstrong, D. |
| Article Title: | HIV-related emergencies: Frequency, diagnoses, and outcome |
| Abstract: | Objective: To study the clinical epidemiology and outcome of HIV-related emergencies, and to identify clinical predictors of HIV-related emergency hospitalizations. Design: Case series. Setting: Emergency facility of a tertiary care teaching hospital. Patients: 350 HIV/AIDS patients followed at the authors' center. Measurements and main results: 69 of 356 patients made 92 emergency visits with a frequency of 8% per month and 20% per quarter in a three-month study period. Forty-three visits (47%) resulted in hospitalization and contributed to 70% of total AIDS hospitalizations in the period. The five most common acute diagnoses were pneumonia (n = 22; 24%), fever (n = 15; 16%), upper respiratory infection (n = 9; 10%), cellulitis (n = 6; 7%), and gastroenteritis (n = 6; 7%). Three diagnoses accounted for 70% of acute HIV hospitalizations: pneumonia (n = 19), fever (n = 4), and sepsis (n = 4). Analysis of patient disposition as it relates to the patient's clinical presentation and HIV history using multivariate analysis yielded 1) the presence of dyspnea or cough (p = 0.015) and 2) fever with an abnormal chest x-ray (p = 0.008) as independently predictive of hospitalization. Conclusion: The findings indicate that HIV/AIDS patients have a frequent need for emergency care and most HIV/AIDS hospitalizations are emergency-related. The acute problems of these patients are related to a limited number of diagnostic categories, and the presence of respiratory or constitutional symptoms with an abnormal chest radiograph are the only reliable factors predictive of hospitalization. |
| Keywords: | prediction; epidemiology; hiv; aids; emergency |
| Journal Title: | Journal of General Internal Medicine |
| Volume: | 8 |
| Issue: | 9 |
| ISSN: | 0884-8734 |
| Publisher: | Springer |
| Date Published: | 1993-09-01 |
| Start Page: | 465 |
| End Page: | 469 |
| Language: | English |
| ACCESSION: | WOS:A1993LZ33700001 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/bf02600105 |
| PROVIDER: | wos |
| PUBMED: | 8410417 |
| Notes: | Article -- Source: Wos |
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