Analysis of newly diagnosed patients with HIV infection in an infectious disease hospital in a semi-enclave region

Objective: to study epidemiologic and clinical-laboratory indicators of HIV-infection manifestation at different stages in newly diagnosed patients, to identify factors influencing untimely diagnosis, assess their adherence to further dispensary monitoring and ART treatment.

Materials and methods: a retrospective analysis of 50 patient records of patients hospitalized at the Infectious Diseases Hospital of the Kaliningrad Region in 2019–2023 was conducted to assess their initial medical care, clinical and epidemiological data, comorbid background, follow-up results, and adherence to treatment.

Results: of the patients analyzed, 54% were men and 46% were women. The mean duration of infection was 4.8±0.6 years. 58% of hospitalized patients were in advanced stages of HIV infection, 52% of them had marked immunodeficiency, indicating late diagnosis, 62.5% of patients had a comorbidity index of more than 6 points. Only 4 (8%) patients were hospitalized with a provisional diagnosis of HIV infection based on rapid testing, the remaining 46 (92%) were allocated to other departments based on the prevailing symptoms. The lack of examination of patients at the stage of outpatient care, when appropriate indications exist, indicates the low awareness of physicians about the clinical picture of HIV in various stages. The low percentage of patients (58.5%) who started therapy within the first year highlights the importance of active motivational and patient-centered work in hospital settings to ensure adherence to treatment.

Conclusions: clinicians need to be more alert to diagnostically complex patients with HIV infection, who may present with an advanced picture of concomitant pathology, regardless of their age and immune status.

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