Experiences of Screening for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Viral Hepatitis B, and Viral Hepatitis C Infections at a Hospital in Thailand: Test Utilization and Outcomes.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Lekskulchai, Veeravan
Copyright Year	2019
Abstract	BackgroundTo prevent the transmission of HIV and hepatitis B and C viruses, early detection is necessary; however, in the early stage, most infected people are symptomless. Screening for these infections should be targeted to certain clinical settings to increase the early detection rate.Material/MethodsThis retrospective study was conducted by analyzing data from patients’ medical records to determine how the screening tests for these viral infections were utilized and what the clinical outcomes from the test utilization were.ResultsFrom 11 676 collected records, the screening tests for HIV, HBV, and HCV infections were utilized in 871, 556, and 236 cases, respectively. The tests for HIV and HCV were utilized the most in people with chronic non-infectious diseases, while the test for HBV infection was utilized the most in pregnant women. The positive results of these tests were highly found in the group of patients with acute non-infectious diseases. HIV infection was newly detected in 1.38% of patients, and HBV and HCV infections were newly detected in 5.58% and 2.12%, respectively.ConclusionsScreening for HIV and HBV infections was performed according to the guidelines of the national HIV and HBV programs. The Outpatient Department (OPD) and medical ward may be the most appropriate clinical settings for HIV screening because most patients are there and blood tests are often ordered there, too. The national programs helped slow the rates of HIV and HBV infections in this community.
Related Links	https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC6802465&blobtype=pdf
ISSN	23254394
Journal	Medical Science Monitor Basic Research [Med Sci Monit Basic Res]
Volume Number	25
PubMed Central reference number	PMC6802465
PubMed reference number	31597908
e-ISSN	23254416
DOI	10.12659/msmbr.918374
Language	English
Publisher	International Scientific Literature, Inc.
Publisher Date	2019-10-10
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This work is licensed under Creative Common Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) © Med Sci Monit, 2019
Subject Keyword	Hepatitis B Virus Hepatitis C Virus HIV Infections Laboratories, Hospital
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Medicine