Sociodemographic and Clinical Profile of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Patients Visiting a Tertiary Care Hospital in Kerala - A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection prevalence in India varies geographically. Understanding the epidemic at the specific regional level (i.e., at the inter-state and intra-state levels) will provide useful insights on suspecting atypical presentation of the disease at the earliest and accelerate the progress toward the elimination of new infections and acquired immune deficiency syndrom-related deaths. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included subjects who had come to the tertiary health care hospital from February 2015 to July 2016. It is a record based cross-sectional study. Results: Out of the 3506 patients screened over 1 year, 30 patients were found to be HIV positive. Males outnumbered females with 19 (63%) and 11 (37%), respectively. Mean CD4 count for all HIV-infected individuals was 206.84 cells/mu l and for asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals was 278.57 cells/mu l. There were 22 (73.4%) symptomatic and 26.6% asymptomatic participants. The most common clinical presentation was a loss of weight (23.3%), cough (13.3%), and weakness/fatigue (13.3%). 26.67% of patients were asymptomatic at the time of screening. The most common route of transmission was through heterosexual contacts 22 (73.3%) and 6 (20%) got the infection which was unknown. Maximum incidence of infection seen in age group more than 49 years, 12 (40%) and the next common age group was 30-39 years 10 (33.3%). 60% of patients were from rural background and 40% from urban area. Laborer occupation found to have maximum incidence 6 (31.5%) in males and housewives were found to be maximum among females 6 (54.5%). 70% of the population belong to below poverty line. Mean CD4 count for all HIV-infected individuals was 206.84 cells/mu l and for asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals were 278.57 cells/mu l. There were 22 (73.4%) symptomatic and 26.6% asymptomatic participants. Conclusion: Our study found a regional lesser prevalence (< 0.2%) of infection and a change in the clinical presentation of HIV patients. Moreover, this study gives the distribution of disease in different social patterns and provides information regarding necessary changes to be taken in the screening tools in a regional set up and promote awareness.