Cristina Margarita C. Janer, MD, Marisse J. Nepomuceno, MD & Fae Angela R. Palabrica, MD
Arthur Dessi E. Roman, MD*

ABSTRACT

Introduction: In recent years, an increase in the number of newly diagnosed HIV infections and in the number of admissions to healthcare facilities due to opportunistic infections has been seen in the Philippines, in contrast to declining trends in other parts of the world. The objective of this study is to establish the baseline profile, enumerate the most common clinical presentations and determine the outcomes of admission/readmission of newly diagnosed adult HIV/AIDS patients in Manila Doctors Hospital from January 2012 to July 2016.
Methods: A descriptive study was done via chart review of 61 identified newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS patients. However, only 54 patients met the inclusion criteria.
Results: Of the included patients, mean age was 33.57 (± 6.93), 98.15% (n=53) were male and mean baseline CD4+ T cell lymphocyte count was 17.79 cells/μL (± 12.34) for eight patients with available data. Majority of the patients had no co-morbid conditions (n=23, 42.59%). Leading occupations of study subjects were BPO employees (n=8, 14.81%) and educators (n=6, 11.11%). Similar with national data, homosexual practices was most common (n=19, 35.19%). Patients were usually at Clinical Stage 4 on admission, based on the WHO Clinical Staging of HIV/AIDS (n=41, 75.93%). The most common presentations were pulmonary symptoms (difficulty of breathing (n=14, 26%) and cough (n=11, 20%)) and fever (n=11, 20%). Tuberculosis (n=22, 40.7%) and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (n=19, 35.1%) were the top opportunistic infections identified in this study population. Of the 54 patients, seven patients were readmitted with a leading presentation of fever (n=5, 50%). Most patients were discharged improved (n=43, 79%) and during the study period, only two patients expired.
Conclusion: Data from this study would result in clinicians having a higher level of suspicion for HIV infection especially in young males with no co-morbidities presenting with severe pulmonary symptoms. The dilemma of establishing a definitive diagnosis of opportunistic infections among these patients may at times remain a challenge

*Adviser/Consultant, Department of Internal Medicine