Characteristics of HIV patients at the emergency department

The spreading epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has lead to an increasing number of patients searching for medical care at general hospitals. No epidemiological data referred to these patients is available in Uruguay. We performed a descriptive review of HIV infection in Emergency Department patients of the Hospital de Clinicas during a one-year period. Most patients were young male individuals, with heterosexual transmitted infection. The majority has previous HIV diagnosis and those without it were at advanced stage. The most common complications in all groups were: respiratory (community acquired pneumonia, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, bronchitis, tuberculosis), and neurologic diseases (cryptococcosis, neurotoxoplasmosis).