HIV-related admissions to a district general hospital in the UK: a single centre study

This study evaluates the patient and disease characteristics, potential cost implications and short-term outcomes of 64 adult patients admitted with HIV-related illnesses. The majority (65.6%) were black Africans and 75% were immigrants to the UK. Of the 64 patients, 61% were unaware of their HIV status at admission; 50% had CD4 count <50 cells/mu l and 48% had viral load >10(5) copies/ml. Thirty-eight patients had AIDS and this accounted for 66% of the total 897 inpatient days (equivalent to 16.5-30.2 patient years of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) depending on the type of HAART regimen used). Fifteen (23.8%) died in hospital, and of these 11 had AIDS and a CD4 count <200 cells/mu l. Immigrants from countries of high prevalence accounted for the majority of the inpatient HIV caseload. They presented late and had high in-hospital mortality. Screening programmes to allow early diagnosis and treatment should be adapted to reach migrant populations.