Clinical Presentations of HIV/AIDS Patients Admitted in Tertiary Care Hospitals in Bangladesh

Background: The current estimates suggest HIV prevalence rates of Bangladesh are negligible even among the most - at - risk population groups. However, in health care setting this infection are not so uncommon. But till date very few comprehensive studies are found to summarize the clinical presentation of HIV/AIDS patients in our settings. Therefore, the study was designed to evaluate the clinical presentations in patients with HIV/AIDS attending in tertiary care hospital. Methods: This hospital based cross - sectional observational study was conducted at the Department of Medicine in Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Infectious Disease Hospital for a period of 6 months following approval of this protocol. All patients of HIV/AIDS as diagnosed by the hospital authority in aged 13 years and above and of both sexes were enrolled in the study. Written informed consent was taken from the all study subjects. Ethical issues were ensured in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Data were collected by interview using a preformed questionnaire. Collected data were analyzed by the SPSS 23 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA). Results: Among 15 patients, male were predominant (93.3% - male vs. 6.7% - female). Mean age was 42.46?9.34 (SD) years. Most prevalent age group was 41 - 50 (46.7%) years. About 73.3% subjects hailed from urban areas. Among the risk factors, unsafe heterosexual behavior were found in 66.7% cases followed drug abuser (26.7%) and history of transfusion (6.7%). Almost all patients complained about generalized weakness (100%). Other prominent clinical features were fatigue (80%), prolong fever (73.33%), loss of appetite (73.33%), chronic diarrhea (73.33%), abdominal pain (73.33%), body ache and joint pain (73.33%), cough (66.66%), weight loss (60%). On the other hand, lymphadenopathy (73.33%), oral thrush (53.33%) and pulmonary tuberculosis (33.33%) were the most frequent reason for their hospital visit. Conclusion: HIV infections were more common in urban areas among educated people. It usually presented with generalised weakness, prolonged fever, chronic diarrhoea, lymphadenopathy, oral thrush and pulmonary tuberculosis. As sample size were small therefore, further larger cohort study is needed to get a more precise and details picture of the clinical presentations of HIV/AIDS patients.