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Published on: March 30, 2014
HIV testing in a resource-poor urban emergency department
Nancy R Glick1, Abigail Silva, Leslie Zun
1Division of Infectious Diseases, Mount Sinai Hospital, Chicago, IL 60608, USA. glin@sinai.org
Insights
Standard HIV testing in urban emergency departments (EDs) achieved over 50% consent and identified infections in 3% of high-risk patients. This approach can increase HIV status awareness and linkage to care.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Infectious Diseases
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The HIV epidemic remains a significant public health challenge, particularly in high-prevalence urban areas.
- Identifying individuals with undiagnosed HIV is crucial for effective disease management and prevention efforts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility and yield of offering standard HIV testing to patients in an urban emergency department (ED).
- To assess consent rates, HIV prevalence, and linkage to care among high-risk and symptomatic patients in an ED setting.
Main Methods:
- Standard HIV testing was offered to eligible patients in an urban ED located in a high-prevalence area.
- Data collected included consent rates, HIV infection status, and linkage to infectious disease clinic appointments.
- Analysis considered demographic and risk characteristics.
Main Results:
- Consent rates exceeded 50% across diverse demographic and risk groups.
- The overall HIV prevalence was 3%, with significant variation (0% to 50%) across different patient subgroups.
- 69% of eligible patients attended their initial infectious disease clinic appointment.
Conclusions:
- Offering HIV testing in urban emergency departments is a viable strategy to increase HIV status awareness.
- This venue can effectively identify individuals with HIV and facilitate linkage to care.
- Further implementation in underutilized settings is recommended to combat the HIV epidemic.
Abstract:
In an effort to help fight the HIV epidemic, we offered standard HIV testing to high-risk and symptomatic patients attending an urban emergency department (ED) located in a high-prevalence area. We assessed rates of consent, HIV infection, and linkage into care by demographic and risk characteristics. Consent rates were consistently greater than 50% across the various demographics and risk groups. The HIV prevalence rate was 3% and ranged from 0% to 50% across groups. Of those eligible to enter care 69% attended their first infectious disease clinic appointment. One recommendation to increase the number of people who are aware of their serostatus is to offer HIV testing in underutilized venues, such as an urban ED. The results of this project offer suggestions for future pursuits.
