RESUMO
The objective was to identify factors associated with delayed diagnosis of HIV infection in Vietnam, defined as having a CD4 cell count of <200/mm(3) at the time of the first positive test. Data were collected retrospectively from the medical records of HIV-infected outpatients who received their initial care at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City between July 2004 and August 2005. Among the 204 included patients, 58.3% had a delayed diagnosis. Independent factors associated with a delayed diagnosis were male gender (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.10; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.03-4.41) and having an opportunistic infection at the time of the first positive HIV test (AOR = 3.07; 95% CI = 1.71-5.53). Counselling for early HIV screening is important in populations at risk of infection. Facilitating access to care should be reinforced for symptomatic patients.
