Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27307712›Full record

ArticlePatient preference and adherence2016

Behavioral and clinical characteristics of people receiving medical care for HIV infection in an outpatient facility in Sicily, Italy.

Paola Di Carlo, Giuliana Guadagnino, Palmira Immordino, Giovanni Mazzola, Pietro Colletti, Ilenia Alongi, Lucia Adamoli, Francesco Vitale, Alessandra Casuccio

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Patient preference and adherence, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 40% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Paola Di CarloDepartment of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother-Child Care "G D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Giuliana GuadagninoDepartment of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother-Child Care "G D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Palmira ImmordinoDepartment of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother-Child Care "G D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Giovanni MazzolaDepartment of Medicinal Clinics and Emerging Diseases, "Paolo Giaccone" Polyclinic University Hospital, Palermo, Italy.
Pietro CollettiDepartment of Medicinal Clinics and Emerging Diseases, "Paolo Giaccone" Polyclinic University Hospital, Palermo, Italy.
Ilenia AlongiDepartment of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother-Child Care "G D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Lucia AdamoliDepartment of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother-Child Care "G D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Francesco VitaleDepartment of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother-Child Care "G D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Alessandra CasuccioDepartment of Sciences for Health Promotion and Mother-Child Care "G D'Alessandro", University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Policlinico "Paolo Giaccone" di Palermo · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimThe authors examined a cohort of HIV-positive outpatients at the AIDS Center of Palermo University in Italy in order to identify factors related to the frequency of their visits to the outpatient facility for health care services.

methodsTwo hundred and twenty-four HIV-infected subjects were enrolled in the study. Demographic and HIV disease characteristics were recorded and assessed with the number of days accessed to our outpatients unit in univariate and multivariate analyses. The potential relationship with immunological status was also analyzed stratifying the patients into groups according to their CD4(+) T-cell counts (≥500 vs <500/mm(3), and ≥200 vs <200/mm(3)).

resultsBoth univariate and multivariate analyses showed that duration of antiretroviral therapy <5 years and hypertension were significantly associated with a CD4(+) T-cell count of <500/mm(3), whereas geographic origin (Africa) was associated with a CD4(+) T-cell count of <200/mm(3). Mean number of days the patients sought access to day-care services for laboratory tests was negatively associated with CD4(+) T-cell count.

conclusionPatients with low CD4(+) T-cell counts showed higher use of health care services, demonstrating how early HIV diagnosis can help to reduce health care costs. The CD4(+) T-cell cut-off of 200 cells emphasizes the importance of identifying and managing HIV infection among hard-to-reach groups like vulnerable migrants. In our sample, the illegal status of immigrants does not influence the management of their HIV/AIDS condition, but the lack of European health card that documents the current antiretroviral status, could interfere with the efforts to eradicate AIDS. A better understanding of the major determinants of HIV treatment costs has led to appropriate large-scale actions, which in turn has increased resources and expanded intervention programs. Further guidance should be offered to hard-to-reach groups in order to improve early AIDS diagnosis, and procedures for identifying and managing these vulnerable subjects should be made available to care commissioners and service providers.

Indexed as

access to careCD4+ T-cell counthard-to-reach groupsHIV infectionHIV outpatient serviceresource use

Identifiers

PMID27307712
PMCPMC4889094
OpenAlexW2399995155

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.