Clinical Evolution of HIV-Infected Patients from an Ambulatory in the City of Santarém, Pará, Brazil

Abstract

Objective: Analyze clinically and immunologically the evolution of people living with HIV. Methodology: The sample consisted of 137 records of HIV-infected patients in 2016. The study was the Testing and Counseling Center and Specialized Assistance Service in the municipality of Santarém, Pará, Brazil. The information collected was at the time of diagnosis, 6 months after diagnosis and 1 year after diagnosis. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of the BioEstat 5.3 program. Results: In 2016, 70% of the patients were men, 63% were single, 36.5% were aged between 18-27 years, 42% had completed elementary school and 98.5% had sexual intercourse as the type of exposure to the virus. The immunological situation demonstrated in the diagnosis that 37% of the patients had a TCD4 + lymphocyte count <200 cell / mm³ and after one year this frequency decreased (14%). The viral load undetected in the evolution was 8%, at diagnosis, to 57%, in one year. At diagnosis, 31.4% had opportunistic infection at diagnosis and this rate dropped to 3.6% after one year. With regard to other infections, they occurred in 40.2% at diagnosis and decreased after one year (16.1%). The most frequent opportunistic infection in the diagnosis was candidiasis (34.5%) and, for the other infections, it was syphilis (54.4%). Conclusion: In the evolution of the patient, there was an improvement in the values of TCD4 + lymphocytes and viral load, which reflected in the lower frequency of opportunistic infections and other infections.