Background

The number of HIV-related hospitalizations has decreased worldwide in recent years owing to the availability of highly active antiretroviral therapy. However, the change in HIV-related hospitalizations in Portugal has not been studied. Using comprehensive hospital discharge data from mainland Portuguese hospitals, we examined trends in HIV-related inpatient admissions, length of stay (LOS), Elixhauser comorbidity measures, in-hospital mortality, and mean cost from 2000 to 2010.

Methods

The hospital administrative data from inpatient admissions and discharges at 75 public acute care hospitals in the Portuguese National Health Service from 2000 to 2010 were included. HIV-related admissions were identified using the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis codes 042.x–044.x. The effect of Elixhauser comorbidity measures on extending the LOS was assessed by comparing admissions in HIV patients with and without comorbidities using the Mann–Whitney U test. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to estimate the odds of having a decreased discharge.

Results

A total of 57,027 hospital admissions were analyzed; 73% of patients were male, and the mean age was 39 years. The median LOS was 11 days, and the in-hospital mortality was 14%. The mean cost per hospitalization was 5,148.7€. A total of 83% of admissions were through the emergency room. During the period, inpatient HIV admissions decreased by 22%, LOS decreased by 9%, and in-hospital mortality dropped by 12%. Elixhauser comorbidities increased the median LOS in nearly all admissions.

Conclusions

Despite small regional variations, a strong, consistent decrease was observed in the hospital admission rate, mean cost, length of stay, and mortality rate for HIV-related admissions in Portugal during 2000–2010.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-015-0801-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.