HIV Infection in Emergency Room of Chumphon Hospital

Abstract

This research was to study the number, occupation, symptoms and risked factors of the HIV infected patients who came to the emergency room of Chumphon Hospital. In this study, there were 361 patients whose bloods were tested for HIV infection, and 12 were found positive: 11 males and 1 female. The age-group which  found most was 21-40 years (10 patients or 83.33%). Risk factors were unidentified in most of the cases. Nine cases came with surgical symptoms and the other 3 were medical. None of them came with signs and symptoms of clinical AIDS related complex.

It was concluded that patients who came to emergency room could be HIV infected without any observable sign or symptom relating to the infecting. Therefore, it is suggested that every patient should be managed under the strict universal precaution.