A Retrospective Cohort Study Of HIV/AIDS Patients In Suzhou City

Objective This paper analyses the fundamental characteristics, distribution regularities and survival conditions of HIV/AIDS patients in Suzhou based on the retrospective review on the 2190 HIV/AIDS patients registered in Suzhou over the years, along with one-year follow-ups. Moreover, the factors that affect the survival conditions of the patients are studied in order to propose appropriate AIDS prevention strategies for Suzhou, as well as further improve the survival conditions of the patients; so that references can be provided for enhancing the effect of combating AIDS.Methodology Through retrospective reviews, this paper acquired the AIDS case reports of Suzhou between 1992 and 2013 from the Suzhou Information System of Comprehensive AIDS Prevention and Control. Furthermore, electronic records and paper documents including epidemiological investigation data of individual cases as well as on-the-spot follow-up data were obtained. Moreover, necessary retrospective reviews were carried out in order to check and supplement the deficiency of these records, the false information in which was proofread as well as corrected. In addition, the patients were followed-up for one year with their survival conditions and related data recorded. As soon as the follow-ups were completed, an excel data base will be established, which was then checked and proofread. Subsequently the data were analysed by SPSS19.0 with an emphasis on factors related to survival. The survival rate was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, single-factor analyses were done through log-rank examination whereas Cox proportional hazard model was used for dissecting multiple factors.Results By the end of the investigation, 1890 of the 2190 HIV/AIDS patients survived, yielding a total survival rate of 86.3%; along with 300 death cases that contribute to a percentage of 13.7%. The survival rate of these 2190 patient is 92% for one year, 88% for three years, whereas 85% for five years; this shows that the survival rate plummets rapidly within the first two years after diagnosis. The result of log-rank examination demonstrates that the survival outcomes of these patients after diagnosis are affected by their ages, occupations, disease conditions, marital statuses, education levels, ways of infection, whether they accept CD4 detection, and the statuses of antivirus treatment. The multi-factor Cox proportional hazard regression analysis confirms that the results of the four factors at the time of diagnosis, which involve ages, occupations, education levels as well as antivirus treatments, are statistically significant(P<0.05). Among them, antivirus treatment serves as the key factor for extending the survival time of HIV/AIDS patients(RR.=0.142).Conclusions Surviving with HIV/AIDS is a common result; the outcome of such survival not only depends on the personal health statuses of the patients, but also is affected by their ages of diagnosis, occupations and education levels. Antivirus treatments can significantly extend the life of HIV/AIDS patients, and are powerful means for easing the prevalence of AIDS。...