Abstract

Objective: Acute HIV infection (AHI) is a stage with a rapid decrease in CD4⁺ T lymphocyte count, high viremia, and high transmissibility. Early diagnosis of AHI represents an opportunity for treatment and prevention of transmission. Therefore, we aimed to determine the clinical and laboratory findings in patients with acute HIV infection.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with AHI among newly diagnosed HIV-infected patients were evaluated in the study. AHI diagnosis was defined as an HIV RNA result of at least 10,000 copies/ml with one of the following criteria: a negative or indeterminate HIV antibody test result in a person with a reactive Ag/Ab test result or a patient with a negative Ag/Ab test result has HIV RNA detected in serum or plasma or HIV serology positivity in a patient with signs and symptoms of AHI starting 2-6 weeks after high-risk HIV exposure. In addition, the history, clinical, and laboratory findings of patients with AHI were analyzed retrospectively.

Results: One hundred six patients had a new HIV diagnosis during the study period. Of those, 12 (11.3%) were AHI. 10 (83.3%) of the patients with AHI were male, and seven were men who had sex with men. The mean age of the patients was 30 (21-50) years. Fourth-generation ELISA was negative in one patient initially; the repeated test was positive ten days later. While the 4th generation ELISA test of two patients was positive at the time of diagnosis, the confirmation test result was indeterminate. The 4th generation ELISA test was positive in nine patients with AHI symptoms starting 10-30 days after unprotected sexual intercourse. The duration of the patient’s complaints until the admission was found to be 13 (7-30) days. The most common findings were fever, diarrhea, fatigue, sore throat, lymphadenopathy, rash, nausea, and vomiting.

Conclusion: The AHI rate was 11.3% in newly diagnosed cases of HIV infection. Awareness of AHI’s signs and symptoms to initiate early diagnosis and treatment. Thus, a better HIV infection course and reduced HIV transmission can be achieved.