Demographic, Clinical and Laboratory Profiles of HIV Infected Patients Admitted into Imam Khomeini Hospital of Tehran, Iran.

Objective: The aim of this study was to report the epidemiological, clinical and laboratory profiles of HIV-infected patients who admitted to HIV/AIDS laboratory of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran, Iran. Methods: HIV positive patients referred to the HIV/AIDS reference laboratory between December 2012 to March 2013 were included in the study. Their demographic characteristics, behavioral and personal history were assessed. Ninety nine patients’ files from the medical records at the Voluntary Counseling and Testing Center (VCT) were selected and evaluated. Data was analyzed using SPSS for Windows Version 16. We used Pearson’s chi-squared, one-way ANOVA and post hoc tests to examine differences in proportions. Results: Of 99 participants in the present study, 68.7% were males, the mean age of the patients was 36±1.2 years and about 60% were married and almost half of them were self-employed. The most common transmission route was injection drug use. There was a statistically significant difference in CD4 count among different age groups (P = 0.028). Also, there was significant association between CD4 count and narcotic types (F=3.71, P = 0.012). Patients who used opium, had significantly higher CD4 than who used two or more narcotics (P = 0.005). Conclusion: Our findings are helpful in understanding the demographic, clinical and laboratory profile of people living with HIV/AIDS. Consideration of useful interventions for high- risk groups and paying more attention to socio demographic background are needed for health care providers.