Does HIV Status Influence the Outcome of Patients Admitted to a Surgical Intensive Care Unit? A Prospective Double Blind Study

Objectives: (a) To assess the impact of HIV status (HIV negative, HIV positive, AIDS) on the outcome of patients admitted to intensive care units for diseases unrelated to HIV; (b) to decide whether a positive test result for HIV should be a criterion for excluding patients from intensive care for diseases unrelated to HIV.

Design: A prospective double blind study of all admissions over six months. HIV status was determined in all patients by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunofluorescence assay, western blotting, and flow cytometry. The ethics committee considered the clinical implications of the study important enough to waive patients' right to informed consent. Staff and patients were blinded to HIV results. On discharge patients could be advised of their HIV status if they wished.

Setting: A 16 bed surgical intensive care unit.

Subjects: All 267 men and 135 women admitted to the unit during the study period.

Interventions: None.

Main Outcome Measures: APACHE II score (acute physiological, age, and chronic health evaluation), organ failure, septic shock, durations of intensive care unit and hospital stay, and intensive care unit and hospital mortality.

Results: No patient had AIDS. 52 patients were tested positive for HIV and 350 patients were tested negative. The two groups were similar in sex distribution but differed significantly in age, incidence of organ failure (37 (71%) v 171 (49%) patients), and incidence of septic shock (20 (38%) v 54 (15%)). After adjustment for age there were no differences in intensive care unit or hospital mortality or in the durations of stay in the intensive care unit or hospital.

Conclusions: Morbidity was higher in HIV positive patients but there was no difference in mortality. In this patient population a positive HIV test result should not be a criterion for excluding a patient from intensive care.