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HIV Testing? Not in My ER
December 4, 2007
By David Evans
HIV testing in people at higher risk of infection
did not increase between 1994 and 2004, despite
specific recommendations from the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according
to a new study presented at the 2007 National HIV
Prevention Conference in Atlanta.
Roland Merchant, MD, MPH, from
Brown Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island,
and his colleague examined records from national
databases of emergency-department visits for the
years spanning 1993 to 2004. Specifically, Dr.
Merchant sought to determine the rate of HIV testing
in three groups of people where the CDC advocates
screening—those exposed to blood or body fluids,
cases of sexual assault and people with sexually
transmitted infections (STIs).
A total of 790 million
emergency-department visits were recorded for adults
and adolescents between 1993 and 2004. There were no
clear trends in HIV testing rates over the 11 years.
HIV testing rates were highest in 1994 and 2004,
when approximately 53 percent of those who should
have been tested were screened for the infection,
and lowest in 1995 when only 22 percent got tested.
Testing rates were slightly higher in women,
Hispanics, African Americans and people without
private health insurance.
Source:
Merchant RC,
Catanzaro BM. HIV diagnostic testing in U.S.
emergency departments, 1993-2004 [Abstract
B15-3]. 2007 National HIV Prevention Conference,
Atlanta, 2007.
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