Regional Differences in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Testing

Regional Differences in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Testing Procedures in Eastern German Federal States

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT03158987

Acronym

HIVRegional

Enrollment

999

Registered

2017-05-18

Start date

2017-06-01

Completion date

2019-01-30

Last updated

2021-09-02

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

HIV Seropositivity, CD4+ T Lymphocytopenia

Brief summary

This retrospective observational study aims at the examination of regional differences in the procedure of referral for serological HIV testing between eastern (new) and western (old) German federal states.

Detailed description

Increasing incidence of HIV infections urges early recognition and timely introduction of therapy. Regional differences in referral approach and patient behavior are presumably associated with considerable delays in infection recognition and therapy onset. Comparison of records of new cases which were diagnosed in 2014 in several eastern federal states and a major western German city is expected to disclose whether the regionally preferred type of the primary care institution affects the time point of first diagnosis and the elapsed time since the emergence of the infection, as assessed by Cluster of Differentiation 4 positive (CD4+) lymphocyte counts and manifestation of clinical symptoms of immune deficiency.

Interventions

OTHERMedical record review

Review of medical records of patients diagnosed for the first time as HIV seropositivity

Study design

Observational model

CASE_ONLY

Time perspective

RETROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* first-time HIV seropositivity

Exclusion criteria

* N/A

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Type of HIV-verifying medical institution	1 day	Medical Institution (university hospital, general practitioner, specialized medical office) which has diagnosed HIV seropositivity for the first time

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
CD4+ lymphocyte counts	1 day	Number of CD4+ lymphocytes at the time of HIV diagnosis
Symptoms of AIDS-related diseases	1 day	Presence of AIDS-related disease symptoms at the time of first HIV seropositivity diagnosis

Countries

Germany

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026