Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)’nın düzenlediği IDWeek 2015™’te sunulan verilere göre, hastalara HIV testi yaptırmak isteyip istemediklerinin ikinci kez sorulması, testi yaptırma oranını önemli ölçüde yükseltiyor.

Asking twice significantly improves rate of HIV testing

October 8, 2015

SAN DIEGO — Reoffering HIV testing to patients may significantly improve its uptake, according to data presented at IDWeek 2015.

“There was a statistically significant higher rate of HIV testing when patients were reoffered testing by trained counselors on the second day of admission as compared to those who were offered testing at the point of entry of care by ED staff or the admitting team,” Baturalp Baserdem, MD, at Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, and colleagues wrote. “We believe that both the involvement of the trained counselors and the timing of the offer contributed to the increased rate of HIV testing.”

Baserdem and colleagues designed a prospective cohort study to examine theHIV screening rates of patients admitted to the internal medicine service of their hospital. Eighty-one patients were assigned to a trained counselor group, where in addition to basic HIV testing services they also were offered HIV testing by trained counselors before the second day of their hospital stay. Screening rates then were compared with those of a control group of 77 patients who were screened for HIV infection regardless of whether they were screened before or on the second day of their hospital stay.

According to the researchers, 61 HIV tests were performed during the study, eight of which were performed in the control group (10.3%) vs. 53 in the intervention group (65.4%). They found that patients were significantly more likely to receive an HIV test in the intervention group compared with the control group (OR = 16.33; 95% CI, 6.88-38.71).

“Early detection and treatment of HIV has been proven to significantly decrease individual morbidity and mortality, as well as reduce transmission of the virus,” Baserdem and colleagues wrote. “Increasing rate of HIV testing is the key to early diagnosis. Routine HIV testing has been recommended by CDC for almost a decade. HIV testing in hospitalized patients is crucial as they are considered a high-risk group but remains challenging.” – by Will Offit

Reference:

Baserdem B, et al. Abstract 382. Presented at: IDWeek; Oct. 7-11, 2015; San Diego.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.