Late diagnosis of Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection and associated factors.
Luana Carla Santana Ribeiro, Maria Imaculada de Fátima Freitas, Unaí Tupinambás and 1 others
PMID 32876290WHAT IT FOUND
59.1% of HIV-positive adults in Brazil were diagnosed late or very late; older age, a steady partner, lower schooling, testing only when sick, or infrequent rapid testing were linked to later diagnosis.
Key findings
01Among participants, 40.9% were very late diagnosed and 18.2% were late diagnosed.
02Each additional year of age increased the chance of later diagnosis by 1.03 times in the final model.
03Never or almost never rapid testing after unprotected sex with a steady partner was associated with 6.40 times greater chance of later diagnosis.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
This was a cross-sectional study, so it shows association, not cause. The analysed sample was 356, not the calculated 369. About 15% refused, and some medical records lacked CD4 count, viral load, diagnosis date, ART start date, or AIDS-indicative disease. It included only adults in outpatient HIV care in six services in a single Brazilian state, so it may not apply to hospitalized patients, people without HIV, or other settings. Diagnosis timing was based on CD4 count at diagnosis, not the actual time from infection.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these factors as causes of late diagnosis. This cross-sectional study found associations among HIV-positive adults in a single Brazilian state, so it cannot show that changing age, partner status, schooling, testing motivation, or rapid testing frequency will make diagnosis earlier.