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. 2023 Sep 18:16:4227-4234.
doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S424561. eCollection 2023.

Late Diagnosis in HIV with New and Old Definitions; Data from a Regional Hospital in Turkey

Aslıhan Candevir  1 , Ferit Kuscu  1 , Behice Kurtaran  1 , Süheyla Kömür  1 , Ayşe Seza İnal  1 , Damla Ertürk  2 , Yeşim Taşova  1
Affiliations

Late Diagnosis in HIV with New and Old Definitions; Data from a Regional Hospital in Turkey

Aslıhan Candevir et al. Int J Gen Med. .

Abstract

Background: Late presentation for HIV care, continues to be a challenge, leading to increased morbidity, mortality, and society costs. The study aimed to determine the rates of late diagnosis (LD) and patient characteristics in Turkey, utilizing the new definition excluding recently infected.

Methods: The study included patients admitted to the hospital between 1998 and 2023, with at least 1 year of follow-up. Patients without a CD4 count at their initial admission were excluded. Two definitions of presentation were used: LD, (CD4<350 cells/mL or AIDS-defining event) and advanced disease (AD), (CD4<200 cells/mL or AIDS-defining event). Individuals with recent evidence of infection were reclassified as "not late".

Results: Out of the 914 patients meeting the criteria and the analysis focused on 794 treatment-naïve patients, with 90.6% being male and an average age of 36.0 ± 12.0 years. Using the previous definition, 48.9% were diagnosed as late, while the new definition identified 47.2%. A total of 183 patients (23%) were diagnosed with AD, and 25.9% of the diagnoses occurred during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The rate of LD increased during the pandemic compared to before (55.8% vs 44.2%, p=0.005), as did the rate of AD (30.1% vs 20.6%, p=0.007). There was no significant relationship between gender and LD. Patients with LD were older (median ages were 31 vs 36 in groups, p<0.001), had poorer virological response, higher mortality rates (4.8% vs 1.2%, p=0.003), and shorter survival compared to those without (log rank=0.004).

Conclusion: HIV patients with LD have poorer prognosis with older age as well as disruption of health services during the pandemic as risk factors. To improve outcomes, multicenter studies should investigate missed opportunities and specific risk factors in our region, and we should screen at-risk populations, promote awareness among underdiagnosed populations, and advocate testing even in disastrous situations.

Keywords: HIV; human immunodeficiency virus; late diagnosis; new definition; risk factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

Dr Yeşim Taşova reports personal fees, non-financial support from Gilead, personal fees, non-financial support from GSK, personal fees from Pfizer, personal fees from MSD, outside the submitted work. The authors report no other conflicts of interest financial or otherwise about this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Survival of patients with late diagnosis.
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