Clinical and Epidemiological Characteristics of Patients with HIV in Ardabil City during 2005-2014

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a globally widespread infection that spreads mainly through sexual contact, mother to child and intravenous drug use. The disease can vary from an asymptomatic state to advanced immune deficiency and AIDS-related opportunistic infections and complications. Patients may be diagnosed at different stages of the disease. In this study, we aimed to analyze the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients with HIV and its consequences during the past 10 years (2005-2014) in Ardabil city.
In this descriptive and case series study, patients with HIV (including live and dead patients) referring to the Ardabil behavioral counseling center were included during 2005-2014 years. The checklist containing demographic data, modes of transmission, time of diagnosis, clinical and therapeutic problems during this period, etc. was prepared for each patient. In dead patients, the causes of death as well as the interval between diagnosis and death were investigated.
In this study, 60 patients with HIV were evaluated, the mean age was 42.96 years, 76.7% of patients were male and 48.2% were intravenous drug users. In 39.7% of cases, patients have probably been infected through intravenous injection and 33.3% by sexual contact. The mean CD4 lymphocyte cell count of patients was 252 cells per ml. The most common early symptoms of the disease were fever (63.33%), aphthous stomatitis (35%) and diarrhea (28.33%). In 7 cases (50%), tuberculosis was the most common opportunistic infection. 6 patients (10%) had coinfection with hepatitis B or C. 28 patients (46.6%) died within the time of study. The median time from diagnosis to death was 44.84±39.65 months and cardiorespiratory failure was the most common cause of death among patients.
This study showed that most patients were middle-aged and intravenous drug use was the most common risk factors for HIV. The most common way of transmission was intravenous injection and hepatitis C and tuberculosis were the most important comorbidities, respectively. Raising community awareness about the disease, early diagnosis and appropriate care during illness are basic measures to deal with this global problem.