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Epidemiologic and clinical features of HIV/AIDS patients from a tertiary care centre in Turkey
H. Kumbasar Karaosmanoğlu, O. Altuntas Aydin, O. Nazlıcan
Haseki Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
Background: In Turkey, first HIV/AIDS case was reported in 1985. Despite recent increases in
incidence, 3.307 HIV/AIDS cases are documented in our country of 71.517.100 population. The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiologic and clinical features of HIV/AIDS cases followed up in the past 3 years.
Methods: Between January 2006 and December 2008, 81 HIV-infected patients were admitted to our centre. The standardised HIV forms had been analysed, where epidemiologic and clinical data were collected retrospectively.
Results: Sex distribution of HIV diagnosed patients were 82% males and 8% females with average age of 37 (range, 22-68). In addition, six patients (7%) were university graduates and it had been revealed that heterosexual intercourse was the most common (59%) route of transmission. The other routes were homosexual intercourse and intravenous drug use.
It was also reported that 13 out of 15 female patients (87%) acquired the infection from their husbands. Median CD4 count at diagnosis was 276/mm3 (range 10-1245).
At admission, 38% of the cases had CD4 count < 200/mm3, 32% had CD4 count of 200- 350/mm3 and 30% had CD4 count >350.The mean viral load at diagnosis was 198.531 copy/ml. 48 % of the patients were admitted with obvious clinical signs and symptoms, whereas 52% of the remaining were diagnosed by means of secreening or check-up tests.
Conclusions: It was found that low educated and male patients constitute the majority of our cases and female patients mostly acquired the disease from their husbands. Taking into account the low education level of observed patients, effective educational programs have to be developed to prevent the transmission of HIV.
Although heterosexual intercourse was the most common route of transmission, men to men intercourse was present in 36% of these patients. This is a relatively high ratio comparing to the 9% of incidence rate in Turkey.
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