Effect of national HIV testing recommendations and local interventions on HIV testing practices in a Swiss university hospital: a retrospective analysis between 2012 and 2015.

Objectives: Despite HIV testing recommendations published by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) since 2007, many individuals living with HIV are diagnosed late in Switzerland. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of the 2013 FOPH HIV testing recommendations on HIV testing rates.

Setting: Ten clinical services at Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.

HIV testing practices by clinical service before and after revised testing guidelines in a Swiss University Hospital.

Objectives: To determine 1) HIV testing practices in a 1400-bed university hospital where local HIV prevalence is 0.4% and 2) the effect on testing practices of national HIV testing guidelines, revised in March 2010, recommending Physician-Initiated Counselling and Testing (PICT).

Methods: Using 2 hospital databases, we determined the number of HIV tests performed by selected clinical services, and the number of patients tested as a percentage of the number seen per service ('testing rate').