Causes of admission of HIV positive patients at University Teaching Hospital of Kigali-mecical wards

Abstract

Background There is limited information concerning the characteristics of HIV positive patients admitted to UTHK as well as the causes and patterns of admissions. HIV has various adverse physical and social economic effects on individual patients, their families and to the country in general.. The aim of our study was to determine the causes of admission of HIV positive patients in medical wards at UTHK, their In-hospital length of stay and their outcome Methods This was a prospective cohort study on HIV positive patients admitted in medical wards at UTHK Between February 2018 and February 2019. Data was collected on patients’ demographics, diagnosis, In-hospital length of stay and In-hospital outcome. Patients were followed up from their admission to their discharge. Results Among 225 participants, 52.4 % were male and the median age was 42years. The majority were in 2nd and 3rd category of Ubudehe; 39.1% and 36% respectively. The median CD4 count was 99 while the median viral load was 1146. Pulmonary TB was the most prevalent opportunistic infection (22.7%), followed by pneumonia (15.6%) and cryptococcal meningitis (10.7%). The mean Inhospital stay was 16 days for those discharged alive and 20 days for those who died in hospital. The overall mortality was 23% and 77% were discharded alive. Conclusion Despite the nationwide availability of ART, HIV opportunistic diseases continue to be the major cause of admissions of HIV positive patients (72.7%). Deaths related to those HIV opportunistic diseases are also substantial (77.7%).