Subject(s)
Curriculum , Emergencies , Emergency Medicine/education , Internship and Residency , Medical Oncology/education , Cancer Pain , Febrile Neutropenia , Hematologic Neoplasms , Humans , Hypercalcemia , Palliative Care , Spinal Cord Compression , Surveys and Questionnaires , Tumor Lysis Syndrome , United StatesABSTRACT
Treatment of human immunodeficiency virus(HIV) in cancer patients improves outcomes and reduces transmission of this oncogenic virus. HIV testing rates of cancer patients are similar to the general population (15-40%), despite the association with cancer. Our aim was to increase HIV screening in the Emergency Department(ED) of a comprehensive cancer center through a quality initiative. Testing increased significantly during the intervention (p<0.001; 0.15/day to 2.69/day). Seropositive HIV rate was 1.4% (12/852), with incidence of 0.3%. All patients were linked to care. Incident cases were between 36 and 55 years of age. Barriers encountered included confusion regarding the need for written consent for HIV testing, failure to consider ordering the test, and concerns regarding linkage to care.