Characterisation of new HIV diagnoses achieved in emergency departments using an opt-in strategy, Catalonia, Spain, July 2021 to March 2024.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUNDHIV screening strategies in alternative settings, such as emergency departments (EDs), aim to increase diagnosis of occult infections and achieve 95-95-95 targets for 2030.AIMTo assess the effectiveness of an opt-in HIV screening strategy in EDs based on six clinical scenarios from a 2020 Spanish consensus document, while examining patient characteristics and linkage to-care.METHODSThis descriptive, multicentre, retrospective study analysed epidemiological, clinical, and linkage-to-care data of individuals aged ≥ 18 years newly diagnosed with HIV between July 2021 and March 2024 in 17 EDs covering 73% of the population in Catalonia, Spain.RESULTSFrom 23,105 HIV serologies performed, there were 172 new diagnoses (positivity rate: 0.7%). Of these, 88.4% (152/172) were assigned male

SUBMITTER: Llaneras J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12788720 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature