title: HIV infection in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy: the Malaga Study.
abstract: We analyse the characteristics of patients diagnosed with HIV infection in the highly active antiretroviral therapy era in the southeast of Spain. Data were collected on 470 HIV patients diagnosed between January 1997 and December 2002. The number of cases fell over recent years and HIV transmission was sexual in 70.5%. The mean CD4 lymphocyte count was 302.1 x 10(6)/L and the mean viral load 4.70 log(10). Diagnosis of HIV coincided with an AIDS-defining opportunistic illness in 30.6% of patients and a late diagnosis (CD4 < 200 x 10(6)/L) was made in 48.3% of patients. A late diagnosis was related to male gender (OR 2.50; 95% CI 1.20-5.12; P < 0.001) and AIDS case (OR 18.80; 95% CI 10.50-33.80; P < 0.00001). These results suggest that there has been a progressive reduction in new cases of HIV-infected patients, with the main route of transmission being sexual and that the diagnosis was late in almost half the patients.
authors.affiliation: Infectious Diseases Unit, Internal Medicine Service, Hospital Virgen de la Victoria, 29010 Málaga, Spain. med000854@saludalia.com
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Palacios
authors.forename: Mónica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gutierrez
authors.forename: Mariela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grana
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de la Torre
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Salgado
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nuño
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Márquez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D019562:Viral Load