Unrecognized HIV-1 infection in inner-city hospital emergency department patients

To determine the prevalence of unrecognized human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infections in patients presenting to an inner-city hospital emergency department, medical records were reviewed from 1,945 patients diagnosed with diseases not related to HIV or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The overall seroprevalence was 2.1% (40): 1.8% (11) in nontrauma versus 3.0% (29) in trauma patients. The highest prevalence was found in black, male, uninsured patients.