Human immunodeficiency virus infection in an emergency hand service

A study prompted by the high number of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients in the South African population was performed to evaluate the incidence of HIV in patients attending our Emergency Hand Service. Over a 6-month period, more than 500 consecutive emergency patients were tested for HIV. In our series, 24 patients tested HIV-positive. Of these, 14 presented with hand sepsis and 10 with hand injuries. Bacteriology was performed on all patients with sepsis to document bacteria type and sensitivity. CD4 counts (T4 lymphocyte counts) were done on 12 patients to assess immunocompetence. Other factors examined included hospital stay, number of operations, postoperative morbidity, and mechanism of injury. Results indicate that septic HIV patients spent more time in the hospital and required more operations than septic non-HIV patients. Furthermore, of all of the population of emergency hand patients, a larger percentage of HIV-positive persons than HIV-negative persons was likely to be seen for infection.