Since the advent of
anti-retroviral therapy, patients with HIV are
living longer, and in the year 2015, over half of those infected with the virus
will be older than age 50.
Moreover, as the general aging population continues
to grow, more elderly individuals will become newly infected with HIV. Older patients with HIV contribute
to high numbers of initial and rehospitalizations, have longer lengths of
hospital day stays, and are at increased risk of death compared to younger
patients with HIV and
those without HIV. Age-related comorbidities can be exaggerated in HIV-positive patients on and off therapy.
Furthermore, signs and
symptoms of HIV and
AIDS may mimic features seen in the normal aging process of older adults.
Internists caring for patients in inpatient settings will be expected to care
for and diagnose increasing numbers of older patients with HIV. This will be critical for improving quality of patient
care, reducing morbidity and mortality, and managing newly diagnosed patients
earlier in the disease course while reducing spread of the virus.
Internists
should be central leaders in the development of targeted and non-targeted HIV screening
efforts in inpatient general medicine wards.
Below: Estimated diagnoses of HIV infection by age, 2013, United States
Full article at: http://goo.gl/YIFwrD
By:
- 1Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- 2Divisions of Hospital Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, USA; charri21@jhmi.edu.
- 3Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- 4Divisions of Hospital Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, USA.
- 5Community Public Health Nursing, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, USA.
More at: https://twitter.com/hiv
insight
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