title: The Symptom Experience of HIV/HCV-Coinfected Adults.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has emerged as a major problem for adults with HIV infection. This report describes the symptom experience of HIV/HCV-coinfected adults at entry into a longitudinal mixed-method study. In-depth qualitative interviews and a standardized quantitative symptom measure were used to capture the symptom experiences of 39 (46% women) HIV/HCV-coinfected patients. Four major themes emerged from the qualitative interviews: (a) difficulty differentiating between HIV and HCV-related symptoms, (b) commonly cited HCV-related symptoms, (c) ways to control or manage HCV-related symptoms, and (d) lack of symptoms or tests to monitor HCV disease. Participants reported an average of 10 different symptoms and a mean symptom experience score of 18.33 (range = 2-47). Results show the significant symptom burden experienced by HIV/HCV-coinfected adults. However, results suggest that the prevalence of symptoms for HIV/HCV-coinfected patients may not be greater than those experienced by patients with HIV infection alone.
authors.affiliation: University of Massachusetts Graduate School of Nursing, Worcester, USA.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bova
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jaffarian
authors.forename: Pauline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Himlan
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mangini
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ogawa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged