Resumo

MARTINEZ, ALEXANDER ROCUTS; CALDERON, TANIA PATRICIA  e  CORTES, JORGE ALBERTO. Clinical characteristics of HIV positive patients in their first consultation at the Central Hospital in Maputo (Mozambique), differences between Africa and Colombia. Infect. [online]. 2007, vol.11, n.3, pp.104-110. ISSN 0123-9392.

Objectives. To learn about the clinical and laboratorial characteristics of patients that came for their first visit to the outpatient care facility dedicated exclusively to HIV patients at the Central Hospital in Maputo, Mozambique, and to discuss the similarities and differences with Colombia. Materials and methodology. Information was collected from charts of patients with positive HIV serology (Uni-Gold, Triniti Biotech, PLC, Ireland) between July 9 and September 13, 2004, who had been evaluated clinically during the same period. Data was analyzed using Excel 2003. Results. Out of 458 patients, 242 (54.5%) were evaluated by physicians. Most of the individuals were between 20 and 49 years of age (average, 34.5 years). Most of the patients were female (n = 142, 58.7%) with an average of 31 years. 45% (n = 109) of the charts had complete clinical information registered. We found a high prevalence of Kaposi’ sarcoma both in males and females (20%). Only 140 patients (57.9%) of the total had a CD4 count on their charts at least a month and a half after their first clinical evaluation; only 18 of them (12.8%) where in stage A infection while more than half (n = 74, 53%) had values below 200 cells per µl and, out of these, only 32% had stage C infection. Conclusion. Patients on their first clinical visit came to the outpatient clinic in advanced stages of the infection and most had already AIDS. Even though the epidemiological situation of HIV in Colombia is better than in Mozambique, there are similar cultural situations and the HIV trend shows a higher prevalence in the male population which is shifting to the female population, this being the rule for Mozambique. Efforts for HIV infection prevention should be intensified and it should be focused on HIV prevention in women at early ages and detection of individuals at early stages of infection.

Palavras-chave : Mozambique; HIV infections; HIV infections [epidemiology]; AIDS; Opportunistic infections associated with AIDS.

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