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European hospitals overlook every other person with HIV

Date:
November 20, 2015
Source:
University of Copenhagen The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Summary:
Many European hospitals fail to routinely test people who may be at risk of an HIV-infection, a new study reveals. If tests were more widely used in healthcare, fewer HIV-patients would go unnoticed, especially in Northern Europe.
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A new study reveals that many European hospitals fail to routinely test people who may be at risk of an HIV-infection. If tests were more widely offered in the healthcare system, fewer HIV-patients would go unnoticed, especially in Northern Europe.

When a patient is admitted to hospital with a disease that could indicate an HIV-infection, they are not always offered an HIV-test. However, if offered a test, almost all patients accept, as revealed in the currently largest study on the subject, which has just now been published in the scientific journal, PlosOne.

"Hospitals would be able to diagnosed almost twice as many people with HIV, if they all adhered to the European guidelines on which people should be offered an HIV-test. This is very unfortunate. When we fail to diagnose those living with HIV in time, they suffer more complications, their life expectancy is shortened and there is a greater risk that they may have transmitted the virus to others. This is why it's important to diagnose as many people as possible, early on," Professor Jens Lundgren from the Department of Infectious Diseases at Rigshospitalet and Copenhagen University states. Furthermore, expenses rise when the infection is discovered at a later stage.

According to experts, in Europe, there are currently 2.5 million people living with HIV -- of whom every third person is unaware of the infection. This new study examined approx. 7,000 patients who came into contact with the healthcare system because they suffer one of six diseases that could also indicate an HIV-infection: tuberculosis, hepatitis, certain types of cancer as well as esophagus thrush. Overall, barely three out of four patients were offered an HIV-test.

Northern Europe has lowest test-rate

The study included 23 hospitals from all over Europe and revealed that HIV-tests are offered highly irregularly. In Eastern Europe, 99% of relevant patients were offered a test as opposed to only 44% in Northern Europe. It is patients with esophagus thrush and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in particular who are not offered a test.

"These diseases are treated on wards that are not used to treating patients with HIV. The test-rate is higher for patients suffering tuberculosis and hepatitis, as they are often treated on wards that also treat patients with HIV. It appears that healthcare professionals in Northern Europe in particular encounter a barrier in terms of considering the possibility of an HIV-infection and subsequent tests," Jens Lundgren elaborates.

When patients are offered a test, 99% accept.

"We find very high test-rates for pregnant women, because they are routinely offered a test. It's a very important offer that also helps prevent HIV in newborn babies, even though the number of pregnant women with HIV is very low. If we are able to include tests as part of the routine treatment of diseases that indicate a possible HIV-infection, we will be able to discover more patients early on," Jens Lundgren concludes.


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Materials provided by University of Copenhagen The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. D. Raben, A. Mocroft, M. Rayment, V. M. Mitsura, V. Hadziosmanovic, Z. M. Sthoeger, A. Palfreeman, S. Morris, G. Kutsyna, A. Vassilenko, J. Minton, C. Necsoi, V. P. Estrada, A. Grzeszczuk, V. Svedhem Johansson, J. Begovac, E. L. C. Ong, A. Cabié, F. Ajana, B. M. Celesia, F. Maltez, M. Kitchen, L. Comi, U. B. Dragsted, N. Clumeck, J. Gatell, B. Gazzard, A. d’Arminio Monforte, J. Rockstroh, Y. Yazdanpanah, K. Champenois, M. L. Jakobsen, A. Sullivan, J. D. Lundgren. Auditing HIV Testing Rates across Europe: Results from the HIDES 2 Study. PLOS ONE, 2015; 10 (11): e0140845 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0140845

Cite This Page:

University of Copenhagen The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. "European hospitals overlook every other person with HIV." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 20 November 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151120092149.htm>.
University of Copenhagen The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. (2015, November 20). European hospitals overlook every other person with HIV. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 6, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151120092149.htm
University of Copenhagen The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. "European hospitals overlook every other person with HIV." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151120092149.htm (accessed October 6, 2024).

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