TY - JOUR
T1 - Screening for infectious diseases among patients in a state psychiatric hospital
AU - Pirl, William F.
AU - Greer, Joseph A.
AU - Weissgarber, Cynthia
AU - Liverant, Gabrielle
AU - Safren, Steven A.
PY - 2005/12/1
Y1 - 2005/12/1
N2 - This cross-sectional retrospective study examined the frequency of positive tests for infectious diseases among 655 patients who were admitted to a state psychiatric hospital from 1997 to 1999. Not all patients who were admitted to the hospital were tested for each disease. Rates of positive tuberculin (20.2 percent), hepatitis B (23.9 percent), and hepatitis C (21.5 percent) tests were all significantly greater than estimates for the U.S. general population. A minority of patients were tested for HIV, and 29.0 percent were positive. The rate of hepatitis A was similar to that in the general population (33.2 percent). Independent risk factors for markers of disease included age, immigrant status, homelessness, and history of substance use. These results confirm the importance of screening for infectious diseases among individuals with severe and persistent mental illness.
AB - This cross-sectional retrospective study examined the frequency of positive tests for infectious diseases among 655 patients who were admitted to a state psychiatric hospital from 1997 to 1999. Not all patients who were admitted to the hospital were tested for each disease. Rates of positive tuberculin (20.2 percent), hepatitis B (23.9 percent), and hepatitis C (21.5 percent) tests were all significantly greater than estimates for the U.S. general population. A minority of patients were tested for HIV, and 29.0 percent were positive. The rate of hepatitis A was similar to that in the general population (33.2 percent). Independent risk factors for markers of disease included age, immigrant status, homelessness, and history of substance use. These results confirm the importance of screening for infectious diseases among individuals with severe and persistent mental illness.
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U2 - 10.1176/appi.ps.56.12.1614
DO - 10.1176/appi.ps.56.12.1614
M3 - Article
C2 - 16339630
AN - SCOPUS:29044431560
VL - 56
SP - 1614
EP - 1616
JO - Hospital and Community Psychiatry
JF - Hospital and Community Psychiatry
SN - 1075-2730
IS - 12
ER -
