| Analysis of Undiagnosed HIV- Positive Patients in the Emergency Room |
| Dong Woo Seo, Kyoung Soo Lim, Jae Ho Lee, Jae Chul Youn, Won Kim |
| Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Ulsan, College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. kslim@amc.seoul.kr |
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| ABSTRACT |
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this article is to analysis undiagnosed HIV-positive patients in the Emergency Room (ER). We expect these analysis to be of help in preventing exposure to HIV and in making a diagnosis effectively.
METHODS:
A retrospective analysis by chart review was carried out on 8 unrecognized HIV patients who had been admitted to the ward via the ER from December 2000 to August 2002.
RESULTS:
The results were as follows: 1) The chief complaints were fever with mental change, dyspnea, hemiparesis, dyspnea with fever, chronic diarrhea with fever, abdominal discomfort, and dyspnea with fever and vertigo. 2) The 8 patients all had AIDS as well as other diseases. 3) The reasons for the anti-HIV test were continuous fever of unknown origin (FUO) 33.3%, chest X-ray abnormality 20.0%, VDRL (Venereal Disease Research Laboratory) test positive 13.3%, pre-operation screening blood test 13.3%. The rest were due to MRI (magnetic resonance image) abnormality, intraabdominal tuberculosis, and Cryptococcus in cerebrospinal fluid and comprised 6.7% of the total.
CONCLUSION:
We recommend that an anti-HIV test be given in the ER for patients who have FUO, infiltration of both lungs in the chest X-ray and a VDRL positive in serum. We also recommend that an anti-HIV test be given in the ER for patients with suspected HIV-related encephalopathy, tuberculosis, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, recurrent pneumonia, and progressive multi-focal leukoencephalopathy. |
| Key words:
HIV, AIDS, Emergency room, Indicators, Conditions |
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