Retention in care and mortality trends among patients receiving comprehensive care for HIV infection: a retrospective cohort study.

Retention in care and mortality trends among patients receiving comprehensive care for HIV infection: a retrospective cohort study. CMAJ Open. 2019 Apr-Jun;7(2):E236-E245 Authors: Ulloa AC, Puskas C, Yip B, Zhang W, Stanley C, Stone S, Pedromingo M, Lima VD, Montaner JSG, Guillemi S, Barrios R Abstract BACKGROUND: Studies examining the relation between comprehensive care and health outcomes associated with comorbidities unrelated to HIV infection have focused mainly on the health outcomes of HIV-infected people and comorbid substance use disorders. We aimed to assess the impact of retention in comprehensive HIV infection care on overall, AIDS-related and non-AIDS-related mortality. METHODS: Using a retrospective cohort design, we collected data for HIV-infected patients aged 19 years or more who first visited a comprehensive HIV infection clinic in Vancouver between Jan. 1, 2004, and Dec. 31, 2014. We defined retention in care as visit constancy (whether the patient attended the clinic at least once per given period) of 75% or greater. We used Poisson regression modelling to examine mortality trends. We performed Cox proportional hazards modelling to assess survival by retention during the first year of follow-up and identify factors associated with death. RESULTS: A total of 2101 patients were included in the study. Of the 2101, 1340 (63.8%) were retained in the first year of care, and 271 (12.9%) died during the stu...
Source: cmaj - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: CMAJ Open Source Type: research