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The British Journal of Psychiatry The British Journal of Psychiatry

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HIV infection in psychiatric patients: An unlinked anonymous study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2018

José L. Ayuso-Mateos ,
Francisco Montañés ,
Ismael Lastra ,
Juan J. Picazo De La Garza  and
José L. Ayuso-Gutiérrez
José L. Ayuso-Mateos
Affiliation:
Social Psychiatry Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital “Marqués Valdecilla”, University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain
Francisco Montañés
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital San Carlos, Madrid, Spain, MD
Ismael Lastra
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Hospital “Ntra Sra. del Rosario”, Clinical and Social Psychiatry Research Unit, Santander, Spain
Juan J. Picazo De La Garza
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, University Hospital SanCarlos, Madrid, Spain
José L. Ayuso-Gutiérrez
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital San Carlos, Madrid, Spain, MD
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Abstract

Background

Recent surveys suggest that psychiatric patients are at increased risk of being infected with HIV, although very little information is available concerning the seroprevalence of HIV infection among this population outside the US. The aim of this study is to determine the seroprevalence of HIV-I among patients admitted to a psychiatric in-patient unit and to gather linked anonymous risk-factor information.

Method

An unlinked serosurvey was made, using HIV-1 antibody testing of remnant blood specimens collected for routine medical purposes, of patients consecutively admitted to an acute psychiatric unit in Madrid.

Results

Blood was obtained from 390 of the 477 eligible patients (81.8%). The prevalence of HIV was 5.1% (20/390). Patients aged between 18 and 39 accounted for 63.4% of the admissions and 75% of the positive results. Of the 29 patients who presented with injecting drug use, 14 were HIV-infected (48.3%; 95% CI 29.4 67.5). Of the 51 patients for whom any risk behaviour was noted on the admission chart, 18 were HIV-infected (35.3%; 95% CI 22.4 49.9).

Conclusions

This study demonstrates that there is a substantial prevalence of HIV infection in psychiatric patients admitted to an acute in-patient unit. History of injecting drug use was strongly associated with seropositivity. Clinicians recognised risk factors for HIV infection in the majority of the HIV-infected cases.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 170 , Issue 2 , February 1997 , pp. 181 - 185
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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