A new study on clinical care for for people diagnosed HIV is reporting excellent retention in care among UK adults with HIV, but also the high risk of disease progression among non-attenders.
Story via BioMed Central @biomedcentral
Regular clinical care is important for the well-being of people with HIV. The study sought to audit and describe the characteristics of adults with diagnosed HIV infection not reported to be attending for clinical care in the UK.
Among 74,418 adults living with diagnosed HIV infection in the UK in 2010, 3510 (4.7 %) were not reported as seen for clinical care or died in 2011. Case note reviews and outcomes were available for 2255 (64 %) of these: 456 (20.2 %) remained in the UK and did not attend care; 590 (26.2 %) left UK; 508 (22.6 %) received care in the UK: 73 (3.2 %) died and 628 (27.8 %) had no documented outcome. Individuals remaining in the UK and not attending care were more likely to be treatment naïve than those in care, but duration since HIV diagnosis was not significant. HIV/AIDS related hospitalisations were observed among non-attenders.
Retention in UK specialist HIV care is excellent. The audit indicates that the ‘true’ loss to follow up rate in 2011 was <2.5 % with no evidence of health tourism. Novel interventions to ensure high levels of clinic engagement should be explored to minimise disease progression among non-attenders.
To see the full study, visit: http://beta.bmcinfectdis.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-015-1036-3