Knowledge of the disease and the advance directives in patients with HIV infection

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Advanced directives documents (ADD), allow respect and know patient's intentions in health matters, when they are not able by themselves, for decision making. The aim of this study is making a valoration of the knowledgment of this documents in human inmunodeffinecy virus (HIV) infected patients, as well as their own knowledgment about this patology and possible complications. PATIENTS AND METHOD: HIV infected patients controlled in 2 centers (Hospital de Mataro and Hospital de Granollers). Plained interview as a cuestinonary, that permits evaluate: own knowledge of the patology, received medical information level of satisfaction, patient's medical decision making involving desire, aptitudes in front of different hipotetical health status, and ADD knowledge. Factors associated to both knowledges (patology and ADD) are also evaluated. RESULTS: 74.3% of the interviewed patients, showed a good patology knowledge. This result was associated with: youth, less functional level according to Karnofsky's scale, subjective perception on severity, previous admission at an intensive care unit, cronic hepatopathy, and previous parenteral drugs addiction. In the same way was associated with the negative to depend of mechanical ventilation or another people, and not being uncomfortable talking about this subjects. ADD's knowledge was relationated with the fact of being female (42.0% vs 26.8%. p 0.024), higher academic formation (55.1% vs 25.5%; p < 0.001) and belief that medical decision making must be done by themselves (78.3% vs 53.6%; p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Patology understanding and its complications, may be considered optimal in HIV population. One third of this group, has a good knowledge of ADDs, and is directly relationated with female sex, academic level, and clinical decisions making implication by the patients.