@article{ATM9799,
author = {George Mwamnemo Nyale and Ronald Anderson and Atulkumar Ramanlal Patel and Charles Feldman},
title = {A 10 years audit of cardiothoracic referrals from a pulmonology service in a developing country: impact of patient human immunodeficiency virus status},
journal = {Annals of Translational Medicine},
volume = {4},
number = {7},
year = {2016},
keywords = {},
abstract = {Background: There are few studies that have documented the clinical presentation, complication rate and outcome of cardiothoracic referrals from a Pulmonology Service, particularly in developing countries. Furthermore, the impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status on such referrals and their outcomes is not well documented.
Methods: This was a retrospective audit of combined pulmonologist/cardiothoracic consultations, undertaken among the tertiary academic hospitals attached to the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, over a 10 years period (2001–2010) in order to document the clinical features of these referrals and to determine any impact of HIV status on trends in disease presentations, complications and outcome.
Results: A total of 847 patients were evaluated on whom a variety of surgical procedures was performed, 50.4% being therapeutic, 32.8% diagnostic and 16.9% both therapeutic and diagnostic. HIV status was known in 488 cases. Of these 229 (46.9%) were HIV-seropositive and 259 (53.1%) -seronegative. The main reasons for referral were for infective conditions, including tuberculosis (TB), pleural disease/effusion/empyema, and other bacterial infections, with significantly more of the TB patients being HIV-seropositive (P},
issn = {2305-5847}, url = {https://atm.amegroups.org/article/view/9799}
}