The prevalence and characteristics of HIV/AIDS patients presenting at a chiropractic outpatient clinic in Toronto, Ontario. A retrospective, observational study.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence and presenting complaints of HIV/AIDS patients attending a chiropractic outpatient teaching clinic in downtown Toronto, and explore their self-reported comorbidities, medications used, and consumption of other complementary health care.

METHODS

A random sample was drawn from the entire clinic file collection spanning the years 2007 to 2013. Files were anonymized and coded to ensure confidentiality.

RESULTS

A total of 264 files were radomly pulled from approxinately 3750 clinic files. The prevalence of HIV positive patients was 5.7% (15/264), predominantly males, with 3 patients having developed AIDS. Co-infection with Hepatitis B and/or C was identified in 5/15 patients. The most common presenting complaint was neck pain (80%), followed by low back pain (47%) compared to 20% and 43% respectively for the general cohort. Eleven of 15 patients were on antiretroviral treatment (ART); The frequency of comorbidities was 8/15 (53%) however, none were identified as being dominant. In addition to chiropractic, 7/15 patients reported receiving other complementary therapies.

CONCLUSIONS

A relatively small proportion of HIV/ AIDS patients were found to be receiving treatments in this downtown chiropractic clinic situated within a community health clinic setting. The principal presenting complaint was neck pain.