The HIV-positive patient in intensive care--psychological profile

This paper aims to outline the profile of HIV-positive patients in intensive care, in terms of psycho-emotional and vital parameters.

We evaluated the HIV-positive patients that required intensive care (IC), from January 2011 to December 2013, in the HIV/AIDS Regional of the "Sf. Parascheva" Infectious Diseases Clinical Hospital Iaşi.

From January 2011 to December 2013, the HIV/AIDS Regional Centre in Iaşi recorded 2649 hospitalizations, of which 0.67% (18 cases) required intensive medical care. Of these 10 were males and 8 females, aged between 24 and 65 years with a median of 24 years. There were 29 deaths (1.09% of all hospitalizations), 11 of which in intensive therapy (38% of all deaths)--7 men and 4 women. CD4 counts in persons requiring IC care were between 1 and 112/mm3, and most naive patients who died were late-presenters. The main diseases diagnosed were pulmonary tuberculosis and pneumocystosis, the main cause of death being multiple organ failure. The duration of hospitalization ranged between 4.5 and 30 days. Treatment success rate was correlated with the CD4 and biological status: liver and renal failure, respiratory failure, meningeal coma, hypoproteinemia, diselectrolitemia. From a psychological perspective, patients that arrived in the intensive care showed a history of non-compliance and non-adherence, a personality structure often marked by a lack of respect for them, indifference or ignorance regarding the factors that generate well-being.

HIV-positive patients in the position of requiring intensive care showed a marked immunological collapse due to abandonment of therapy or late detection.