An expanded HIV screening strategy in the Emergency Department fails to identify most patients with undiagnosed infection: insights from a blinded serosurvey

Evaluation of HIV screening in hospital emergency services. Systematic review

AIM

To evaluate HIV screening of people attending emergency services.

DESIGN

Systematic review.

DATA SOURCES

CINAHL Complete, Cochrane Library, Cuiden Plus, PubMed, PsycINFO, SCOPUS and Web of Science.

REVIEW METHODS

The search was carried out between December 2020 and March 2021 following the recommendations set forth in the PRISMA declaration. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used to evaluate the methodological quality of studies. For data extraction, a protocol was prepared. A qualitative synthesis of the main findings was carried out.

RESULTS

The final sample consisted of 29 articles. There are several aspects that influence the performance of HIV screening in the emergency department, such as: adequacy of place, attitude towards screening, sociodemographic characteristics, risky sexual behaviour, incidence of area, and detection tools or method employed, in addition to other factors such as the stigma associated with the disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Emergency services are relevant in screening the human immunodeficiency virus. Further research aimed at creating new interventions allowing early detection and adherence to treatment in this population is still a need, particularly in a first-line service like emergency services.

HIV-Indicator Condition Guided Testing in a Hospital Setting

Late diagnosis is still a major issue in HIV infection management, leading to important consequences for both patients and community. In this perspective, HIV screening targeted on some clinical conditions (HIV indicator conditions-HIVICs) emerged as a useful strategy, also involving patients not considered at high behavioral risk. We organized an in-hospital HIVICs guided screening campaign named ICEBERG in Milan, Italy, between 2019 and 2021. Among the 520 subjects enrolled, mainly presenting with viral hepatitis or mononucleosis-like syndrome, 20 resulted HIV positive (3.8% prevalence). A significant proportion of them had multiple conditions and advanced immunosuppression, with 40% being AIDS-presenters. As adherence to the screening campaign was modest for non-ID specialists, educational interventions to raise clinicians' sensitivity are urgently needed. HIV-ICs guided testing was confirmed as a useful tool, but a combined approach with other screening strategies seems to be essential for early HIV diagnosis.

Missed Opportunities for HIV and Hepatitis C Screening Among Emergency Department Patients With Untreated Opioid Use Disorder

OBJECTIVE

We assessed the frequency of emergency department (ED) HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) screening in a high-risk cohort of ED patients with untreated opioid use disorder (OUD).

METHODS

This analysis used data from a prospective, observational study of English-speaking adults with untreated OUD enrolled from April 2017 to December 2018 in 4 urban, academic EDs. Two cohorts were defined for this analysis by self-reported negative/unknown status for HIV (cohort 1) and HCV (cohort 2). Sites featured structured screening programs throughout the entire enrollment period for HIV and during at least part of the enrollment period for HCV. We calculated the proportion tested for HIV and HCV during the study enrollment ED visit.

RESULTS

Among 394 evaluated ED patients, 328 of 394 (83.2%) were not tested for HIV or HCV and 244 of 393 (62.1%) lacked a usual medical care provider. In cohort 1, 375 reported negative or unknown HIV status; 59/375 (15.7%) overall and 33/218 (15.1%) of those reporting recent injection drug use were tested for HIV. In cohort 2, 231 reported negative of unknown HCV status; 22/231 (9.5%) overall and 9/98 (9.2%) of those reporting recent injection drug use were tested for HCV. The proportion tested by the ED ranged from 3% to 25% for HIV and 4% to 32% for HCV across study sites.

CONCLUSIONS

Emergency department HIV and HCV screening remains infrequent among patients with untreated OUD, including those who inject drugs, even in EDs committed to screening. Targeted HIV/HCV screening should be considered as an adjunct strategy until the ideal of universal screening is more fully achieved.

Ten-Year Trend in Emergency Department Visits for Sexually Transmitted Infections among Adolescents: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study in Italy

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are frequently underdiagnosed, representing a serious public health concern, especially during adolescence and in more vulnerable communities.

AIM

to describe the last ten years of emergency department (ED) visits for STIs among adolescents.

METHODS

a retrospective cross-sectional observation was carried out in the Piedmont region in Italy. Data were retrieved through the Italian National Information System database. ED visits related to specific ICD-9-CM codes carried out on 11 to 19-year-old youths between 2011 and 2020 were investigated. Age-specific, crude, and standardized rates and admission ratios, with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), were calculated to estimate the STI trend.

RESULTS

from a total of 1,219,075 ED visits, 339 were related to STIs, representing an increasing ratio of 28 per 100,000 visits, primarily in females. Most infections occurred in girls (83.5%) and among 17 to 19-year-olds (71.5%). A drop in both ED visits and STI cases was observed in 2020. Genital Herpes and Genital Warts were more frequent in girls while Gonorrhea was more frequent in boys.

CONCLUSIONS

the increasing trend of ED visits for STIs, particularly in girls, represents an emerging relevant public health issue that needs to be urgently tackled.

HIV Testing at Visits to US Emergency Departments, 2018

BACKGROUND

An early HIV diagnosis improves patient outcomes, reduces the burden of undiagnosed HIV, and limits transmission. There is a need for an updated assessment of HIV testing rates in the emergency department (ED).

SETTING

The National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey sampling ED visits were weighted to give an estimate of ED visits across all US states in 2018.

METHODS

We analyzed patients aged 13-64 years without known HIV and estimated ED visits with HIV testing and then stratified by race, ethnicity, and region. Descriptive statistics and mapping were used to illustrate and compare patient, visit, and hospital characteristics for visits with HIV testing.

RESULTS

Of 83.0 million weighted visits to EDs in 2018 by patients aged 13-64 years without a known HIV infection (based on 13,237 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey sample visits), HIV testing was performed in 1.05% of visits. HIV testing was more frequent for patients aged 13-34 years compared with that for patients aged 35-64 years (1.32% vs. 0.82%, P = 0.056), Black patients compared with that for White and other patients (1.73% vs. 0.79% and 0.41%, P = 0.002), Hispanic or Latino patients compared with that for non-Hispanic or Latino patients (2.18% vs. 0.84%, P = 0.001), and patients insured by Medicaid compared with that for patients insured by private or other insurance (1.71% vs. 0.64% and 0.96%, P = 0.003). HIV testing rates were the highest in the Northeast (1.72%), followed by the South (1.05%).

CONCLUSIONS

HIV testing occurred in a minority of ED visits. There are differences in rates of HIV testing by race, ethnicity, and location. Although rates of testing have increased, rates of ED-based HIV testing remain low.

HIV Rapid Testing in the General Population and the Usefulness of PrEP in Ecuador: A Cost–Utility Analysis

Introduction

HIV is considered one of the most important chronic transmitted diseases worldwide. The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS in 2020 proposed the strategy “95–95–95” which goals to achieve a 95% of cases identified, receives ART, and will have achieved suppression of the virus. In Ecuador by 2020, according to the Ministry of Public Health, 45,056 persons are living with HIV, principally men between 15 and 49 years, and a mortality rate of 4.8/100,000 habitats. This study aims to determine the cost–utility of applying an early screening to a sexually active population vs. only a high-risk population and if the use of PrEP is justified depending on different contexts.

Methods

For the cost–utility evaluation, it was compared: (a) HIV screening performed only in the high-risk population vs. HIV screening in all population sexually active; and (b) the use of ART only for HIV treatment vs. ART as a treatment in diagnosed cases and the use of PrEP (only at a high-risk population of acquiring HIV). Calculation and weight of DALYs for HIV/SIDA were obtained through WHO guidelines. To generate the Markov model for HIV/AIDS, subjects were classified as symptomatic or asymptomatic, as well as the HIV deaths.

Results

Cost–benefit analysis (CUA) showed that ICER for early diagnosis had a negative value which means a saving if the strategy will be implemented as a regular test (–$591, –$4,360) and −108 and −934 DALYs, in the case of ART and PrEP, ICER the $30,541–$59,410, which resulted in more than the GDP's threshold and health years between 2,511 and 10,635 in the general population. With a reduction of 70% in the assigned budget for the early diagnosis, Ecuadorian people could lose between 4 and 6 DALYs, while if the budget reduces more than 50% to ART, it will generate a loss of 10–12 years of healthy life.

Conclusion

CUA demonstrates that an early diagnosis in a sexually active population is cost-beneficial. This, combined with ART or PrEP, is ideal to add years of healthy life.

Attitudes and Perceived Barriers to Routine HIV Screening and Provision and Linkage of Postexposure Prophylaxis and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Among Graduate Medical Trainees

New York City is the metropolitan area in the United States with the highest number of new HIV diagnoses nationwide. The End-The-Epidemic (EtE) initiative calls for identifying persons with HIV who remain undiagnosed, linking and retaining persons living with HIV to maximize viral suppression, and facilitate access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for patients at increased risk of HIV. HIV screening represents the first step to both the primary and secondary HIV prevention cascades. We conducted an online, anonymous, cross-sectional survey of residents at all stages of training within four residency programs at one institution in Northern Manhattan between August 2017 and August 2018. All internal medicine, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology trainees, and pediatrics were invited to complete the survey via email. Of 298 eligible trainees, 142 (48%) completed the survey. Most trainees were aware of the HIV testing law and agreed that HIV testing was their responsibility, but few successfully screened most of their patients. Most trainees were not knowledgeable about non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis (nPEP) or PrEP, but felt that it was important to provide these services across settings. Barriers to HIV, nPEP, and PrEP varied across specialties. Ending the HIV epidemic will require efforts across clinical specialties. In this survey from an EtE jurisdiction, most trainees felt that it is important to provide HIV prevention services in most settings; however, their knowledge and comfort with HIV prevention services other than testing were low. Barriers varied across specialties, and developing specialty-specific materials for trainees may be beneficial.