Seroprevalence, pattern and outcome of HIV/AIDS among surgical patients at Gondar University Hospital.

BACKGROUND

HIV/AIDS affects not only medical but also surgical patients. Post operative outcome could be influenced in a form of increased morbidity or mortality.

OBJECTIVE

To determine prevalence, pattern and out come of HIV/AIDS among surgical patients at Gondar University Hospital (GUH).

PATIENTS AND METHOD

All patients admitted to the department of surgery of GUH from October 2001 to February 2002 were included The ELISA was used to test for HIV Patients were categorized in to four groups according to their cause of illnesses; namely General surgical, Trauma, Infective and neoplasia.

RESULTS

Seventy-three (12.1%) of the 604 patients tested were positive for HIV. Those patients who had some sort of infectious surgical illnesses including appendicitis and cholecystitis had the highest prevalence (25.7%). It was observed during the study that morbidity and mortality were higher among the patients who were considered to have developed AIDS.

CONCLUSION

The study has established an HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 12.1% among surgical patients at Gondar University Hospital. Patients with infectious surgical processes were affected most. It is recommended that this group of patients need voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV and may benefit from its outcome by getting anti-retroviral therapy.