DEMOGRAPHIC AND CLINICAL PROFILES OF HIV POSITIVE CASES : A TWO-YEAR STUDY REPORT FROM A TERTIARY TEACHING HOSPITAL

The report on the pattern of demographic and clinical profiles of HIV positive persons in Nepal are scarce. Present study was carried out at the Universal College of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital at Bhairahawa (UCMS-TH). Following group of patients, who attended our different OPDs for a period of two years (January 2001 to December 2002) were subjected to HIV tests: History of exposure to Commercial Sex Workers (CSW), history of travelling and working India/abroad, living single, driver/cleaner by profession, history of injection drug use (IDU), unexplained fever, diarrhoea and significant loss of weight for over a month, all cases of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), etc. A total of 43 HIV positive cases were detected during the period. Mode of transmission was as follows: 6 (13.9%) patients were injection drug users (IDU), one case (2.3%) transmitted through blood transfusion (BT), one patient (2.3%) was homosexual while heterosexual transmission was noted in 34 (79.1%) patients. Out of 23 injection drug users (IDUs) admitted during the period, 6 cases were detected positive for HIV infection. Applying ‘Expanded WHO Case Definition for AIDS Surveillance’, out of total 43 cases at least 28 (65%) cases could be detected as having suffering from clinical AIDS; 12 (27.7%) of them were suffering from pulmonary or extra-pulmonary tuberculosis. A significant percentage of these patients belonged to lower socio-economic class and many of them were mobile worker and contacted their illness while working in Indian metropolis in the past. ABSTRACT Key Words: HIV positive, Clinical AIDS, Nepal