This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
HIV testing in King’s A&E diagnoses 32 new cases
A 12-month HIV testing pilot in King’s College Hospital’s emergency department has identified 32 new cases of the condition.
The hospital began screening all adult patients in the emergency department requiring a blood test in 2016. In total, 24,037 patients were tested.
The aim of the pilot was to decrease the frequency of late HIV diagnoses in Lambeth and Southwark - two boroughs recognised as having the highest prevalence of the condition in the UK.
The testing initiative, which was launched as the result of a funding grant from the Elton John AIDS Foundation, will now continue indefinitely at the hospital.
Killian Quinn, consultant in sexual health at King’s College Hospital, said: “This type of testing is really good news for patients. It’s quick, easy, and results come back within a few days, which enable us to put patients on medication without delay.
“When HIV is detected and treated early, antiretroviral medication can be so effective the virus can become undetectable in some patients, meaning they can no longer pass the virus on to others.
“With the sophisticated medicines now available, HIV is no longer a death sentence but a treatable condition. One of the most common reasons people develop complications is because they don’t know they have the infection. Our universal testing scheme is a big step forward in addressing this issue.”
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