HIV testing practices of TB patients after introduction of a new testing policy in Kiev City, Ukraine

The Kiev City Health Administration published a new policy for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing of tuberculosis (TB) patients. According to this policy, all TB patients should be offered voluntary HIV testing after counselling.

To evaluate the implementation of the new HIV testing policy and to determine the HIV prevalence in TB patients in Kiev City.

TB patient medical records were retrieved from eight TB facilities in Kiev City. They were reviewed for information about offering an HIV test, accepting to be HIV tested and outcome of the HIV test. Information was collected about patient characteristics and TB risk groups.

Of 914 patients, 75% were offered HIV testing. Females were less frequently and alcohol abusers more frequently offered HIV testing. Of the patients who were offered HIV testing, 84% accepted. Of the 574 who were HIV tested, 36 (6.3%) had a positive test result.

Not all TB facilities adhere strictly to the new policy. HIV testing seemed to be targeted to individuals with a high risk for HIV infection. To improve adherence to the new policy we recommend training of TB physicians in voluntary counselling and testing. The HIV prevalence among TB patients in Kiev City was 6.3%.