Missed Opportunities for HIV Testing in Hospitalised Adults in Türkiye: Indicator Conditions and Testing Coverage in...

To quantify the prevalence of HIV testing indications among hospitalised adults in Türkiye, assess HIV testing coverage when clinically indicated, and identify missed diagnostic opportunities in a national multicentre point-prevalence survey. We conducted a national multicentre cross-sectional point-prevalence survey across tertiary referral hospitals from all seven geographical regions of Türkiye. Adult inpatients present at 08:00 on a predefined index day were assessed for predefined HIV testing indications, including AIDS-defining conditions, indicator conditions associated with an expected undiagnosed HIV prevalence ≥ 0.1%, and conditions in which unrecognised HIV could substantially affect clinical management. Among 3,425 hospitalised adults without known HIV infection, 699 (20.4%) had at least one documented HIV testing indication. HIV testing was requested by the primary clinical team in 424/699 patients (60.7%). Testing was lowest in patients with indicator conditions associated with an expected undiagnosed HIV prevalence ≥ 0.1%, and these conditions were independently associated with higher odds of non-performance of HIV testing by the primary clinical team than AIDS-defining conditions (corresponding adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.67-5.81). In centres with a specialised HIV outpatient clinic, the odds of non-performance of HIV testing by the primary clinical team were independently lower among patients with an appropriate testing indication (corresponding aOR 0.64, 95% CI 0.43-0.95). Following study-team facilitation, overall testing coverage increased to 677/699 (96.9%). Three reactive screening results were identified, including two confirmed new HIV diagnoses. HIV testing indications were common among hospitalised adults in Türkiye, but non-performance of HIV testing by the primary clinical team remained frequent, particularly for non-AIDS indicator conditions. Strengthening indicator-condition-guided testing through structured clinical pathways and institutional HIV expertise may reduce non-performance and support earlier HIV diagnosis.