The Symptom Experience of HIV/HCV-Coinfected Adults

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has emerged as a major problem for adults with HIV infection. This report describes the symptom experience of HIV/HCV-coinfected adults at entry into a longitudinal mixed-method study. In-depth qualitative interviews and a standardized quantitative symptom measure were used to capture the symptom experiences of 39 (46% women) HIV/HCV-coinfected patients. Four major themes emerged from the qualitative interviews: (a) difficulty differentiating between HIV and HCV-related symptoms, (b) commonly cited HCV-related symptoms, (c) ways to control or manage HCV-related symptoms, and (d) lack of symptoms or tests to monitor HCV disease. Participants reported an average of 10 different symptoms and a mean symptom experience score of 18.33 (range = 2-47). Results show the significant symptom burden experienced by HIV/HCV-coinfected adults. However, results suggest that the prevalence of symptoms for HIV/HCV-coinfected patients may not be greater than those experienced by patients with HIV infection alone.

Key words: HIV, HCV, symptom experience