Abstract

Introduction: Surgical emergencies in patients infected with HIV present with various patterns of presentation and their severity. Depending on the severity of each, management and outcome can differ. Hence, it is important to keep a high index of suspicion for the diagnosis. We aimed to study the clinical and demographic profile and their correlation with CD4 counts.  After extensive literature search with keywords as ‘Surgical Emergencies in HIV patients’, it was found that not many studies were done on this topic. However, there were many articles on ‘Abdominal Emergencies and HIV’ and various case reports on individual surgical emergencies. 

Patients and Methods: Forty three patients of HIV presenting to surgical emergencies were studied from August 2013 to November 2015. This was a hospital based prospective observational study. 

Results: Of the 43 patients studied, the patients with abscesses formed the highest group. The commonest of the non-abscess group was pancreatitis. 46.52 per cent of the patients presented with CD4 counts less than 200. Four patients died during the study. 

Conclusion: HIV and AIDS can present with clinically challenging situation and different presentations. Hence, a high index of suspicion and awareness among the treating healthcare professionals is required. CD4 count has a good predictive value for mortality and morbidity. To study the patterns of presentation of surgical emergencies in patients of HIV a study of a larger sample size and a longer follow-up is required.