Influence of a day care hospital on the incidence of hospital admissions of AIDS patients

BACKGROUND: Day care units have become an usual way of medical care for AID S patients. However, their influence on the incidence of hospital admission s has not been evaluated. METHODS: Observational and longitudinal study of a cohort of 308 patients w ith aids diagnosed between 1990 and 1994 and followed-up to June 1996, The incidence of hospital admissions according to the hospital of follow-up (wi th or without day care unit) was analyzed. A multivariate analysis of the n umber of hospital admissions was performed using regression model adjusted to a distribution of Poisson. RESULTS: After AIDS diagnosis, the incidence of hospital admissions was 108 per 100 patient-years of follow up (21 days as inpatient per patient-year) . Those patients controlled in the hospital with day care unit have less ho spital admissions (relative risk after adjusting by CD4+ cells count and ty pe of diagnostic disease: 0.64; Cl95% 0.55-0.76), and less days as inpatien t through their follow-up (11 to 31 days less). There was no difference in survival among patients followed in both hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: A day care unit decrease the incidence of hospital admissions in aids patients. This positive impact is more evident in patients with les ser CD4+ cell counts.