The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus infection in patients with sexually transmitted diseases

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Mohammad Mahdi Majzoobi 1
Mohammad Reza Sobhan 2
Mehrangiz Zamani 3
Abbas Moradi 4
Sahar Khosravi 5
Ali Saadatmand 6
1 Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine; Brucellosis Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
2 Psoriasis Research Center; Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
3 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
4 Department of Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
5 Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
6 Brucellosis Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
Abstract
Background: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission pattern in Iran has been changed from injection drug to sexual contact. Lack of accurate assessment of HIV in people with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in Iran prompted us to conduct this study to determine the frequency of HIV infection in these patients.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study which conducted in 2016–2017, overall, 190 patients with STDs referring to two hospitals of Hamadan were enrolled in the study. All of the patients were examined for HIV in the first visit by rapid test and then 1 and 4 months later by the 4th generation ELISA. A questionnaire including demographic data, clinical manifestations, and high-risk behaviors was completed for all of the referring people. The collected data were analyzed using appropriate statistical tests. Results: Of 190 patients, 126 (66.3%) were female with a mean age of 34.1 ± 10.1 years and 64 (33.7%) were male with a mean age of 30.8 ± 7.8 years. One hundred twenty-eight (67.4%) got married, 73 (38.4%) and 76 (40%) had a diploma and postgraduate education, respectively, 32 (16.8%) mentioned the history of unsafe sex, and 23 (12.1%) had used condoms continuously during sexual contacts. The most common STDs were reported genital warts, 107 patients (56.3%), vaginal discharge (28, 14.7%), and genital ulcer (33, 17.4%). Two (1%) patients were positive for HIV at the first visit. Conclusion: Patients with STDs should be considered as an important source of HIV transmission, so clinicians should pay more attention to screening these patients for HIV infection.

Keywords

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Advanced Biomedical Research
Volume 2020, March
March 2020
Pages 1-4