HIV testing in TB clinics: a problem in practice?

• Published in: Thorax Vol. 61; no. 3; pp. 271 - 272
• Main Authors: Dart, S, Alder, D, Mamdani, M, Solamalai, A, Evans, A, Johnson, N, Cropley, I, Lipman, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Thoracic Society 01.03.2006; BMJ Publishing Group LTD; BMJ Group
• Subjects: Ambulatory Care - utilization; HIV; HIV Infections - diagnosis; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Letter to the Editor; Medical tests; Tuberculosis; Tuberculosis - therapy
• ISSN: 0040-6376; 1468-3296
• DOI: 10.1136/thx.2005.048066

The London Regional Office of the Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (CDSC) has stated that all patients diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) should be offered an HIV test. 1 We sought to implement this by introducing a programme within two central London hospitals with high rates of TB, where TB specialist nurses saw all patients early in their treatment course and discussed HIV testing. Table 1 Numbers of outpatients and inpatients with active tuberculosis and unknown HIV status offered and accepting an HIV antibody test, and numbers found to be positive Outpatients(N=178) Inpatients(N=58) p value Offered HIV test 88 (49%) 43 (74%) 0.001* Accepted HIV test 61/88 (69%) 42/43 (98%) <0.0001[dagger] HIV positive 1/61 (2%) 17/42 (40%) <0.0001[dagger] *[chi]2 test; [dagger]Fisher's exact test.