Prevalence of HIV in surgical patients at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital

Background: With the high prevalence of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa, screening for this viral infection is a routine in many health institutions prior to surgery, the world has recorded success story in the research of HIV especially with the advent of Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART) this disease burden has been reduced globally. The prevalence of HIV in Nigeria is 1.4%. Aim: To determine the prevalence of HIV in surgical patients at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH), Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. Method: This was a cross sectional study of ANC attendees and surgical patients at the RSUTH, from January 1st to June 31st, 2019. They were surgical patients who were systematically selected, information was obtained from patients case notes with a structured proforma. The information obtained was coded and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Result: A total of 370 patients were attended to pre-operatively. There were 146 (39.5%) males and 224 (60.5%) females. The mean age was 31 years. One hundred and ninety four (52.4%) were obstetrics and gynaecological surgeries while 176 (47.6 %) were non-gynaecological surgeries. The commonest indication for surgery was caesarean representing 126 (34.1%) of the subjects.The prevalence of HIV in surgical patients was 8 (2.1%). Three (1.6%) of the obstetrics and gynaecological patients had HIV compared to 1(0.5%) non-obstetrics and gynaecological patient. Conclusion: The study revealed that prevalence of HIV in surgical patients at the RSUTH was high (2.1%). HIV infection was thrice as common in obstetrics and gynaecological patients compared with other surgical disciplines. There is need to step up surveillance amongst ANC attendees who are reflection of the populace in this region