Residency

Study: Emergency medicine residents miss early diagnosis for HIV

Residency Program Insider, October 31, 2014

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Researchers found that found that 85% of emergency medical residents were able to correctly recognize symptoms of acute retrovirus syndrome (ARVS), an early stage of HIV infection characterized by flu- or mononucleosis-like symptoms, but only 27% would order a rapid HIV test.
 
The findings are based on an electronic survey of more than 700 emergency medical residents from more than 100 programs nationwide where they were presented with one of two clinical vignettes of patients showing symptoms that suggested viral illness.
 
The survey also found that the patient’s sexual orientation impacted whether an HIV test was ordered. The patient was identified as homosexual in one version of the survey and no sexual orientation was given in the second version. More than 56% of residents ordered an HIV test for the homosexual patient, compared to 14.6% for the other patient.
 
Source: Infectious Disease Special Edition



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