RESEARCH PAPER
The most frequent clinical symptoms
in newly diagnosed HIV-1 patients
with high and low HIV-1 viral load
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1
Students’ Science Society of the Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases and Hepatology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland
2
Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases and Hepatology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland
3
Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Warsaw, Poland
Submission date: 2024-03-08
Final revision date: 2024-08-05
Acceptance date: 2024-08-08
Publication date: 2025-03-31
Corresponding author
Alicja Zofia Maj
Students` Science Society of the Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases and Hepatology, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland
HIV & AIDS Review 2025;24(1):29-34
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Background:
Globally, an estimated 39 million people were living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and 40 million had died of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in 2022. Early HIV/AIDS diagnosis is essential for immediate life-saving antiretroviral treatment (ART), but HIV symptoms are non-specific, which make difficult to diagnose. The main objective of this study was to describe the frequency of clinical symptoms among recently HIV-diagnosed individuals.
Material and methods:
A cross-sectional study was conducted between 2019 and 2020 among HIV-
infected persons admitted to the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Medical University Hospital in Warsaw, Poland. Patient data were collected by physicians from various sources, including patients’ registers, lab test records, and electronic medical files. Checklists for data collection were employed, and patients with chronic, non-infectious co-morbidities were excluded. High viral load was defined as a value of > 1,000,000 RNA copies/ml. Data were analyzed using Python version 3.7 software.
Results:
A total of 86 newly diagnosed HIV-positive patients were included in the study. The mean age was 38 years, and 75 (87.2%) were males. Half (n = 43, 50%) of the patients had a high HIV-1 viral load and showed severe symptoms, including fever 23 (53%), splenomegaly 16 (37%), rash 11 (25%), and hepatomegaly 11 (25%). However, patients with high HIV-1 viral load had significantly lower platelet counts.
Conclusions:
Early detection of HIV is crucial for effective treatment and prevention of complications. Symptoms, such as fever, fatigue, splenomegaly, frequent infections, lymphadenopathy, and mouth sores should induce HIV testing. A comprehensive evaluation of patients’ subtle symptoms is important for timely intervention and improved outcomes of HIV-positive individuals.
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