Hospitalization in HIV in Chicago

Background: Reduction in HIV-related morbidity and mortality in the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era has been unevenly distributed in the United States, and its impact on hospitalizations in urban minority populations in the public sector has been poorly characterized.Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of clinical and administrative data sets of an urban public hospital HIV clinic from 1997 and 1998 to identify the correlates of hospitalization early in the HAART era.Results: 2,647 unduplicated HIV-infected patients were seen in 1997 and 1998 at the CORE Center. There were 31.7 percent women, 71 percent African-Americans and 12 percent Hispanics, and the mean age was 38 years. Men who had sex with men (MSM), injection drug users (IDU), and heterosexuals each made up one third of the population. A majority of the patients had no health insurance, and 27 percent had Medicaid. The median CD4 T cell count was 266 cells/μL, and the median viral load was 1,901 copies/ml. Hospitalizat...