Emergency rooms offer less favorable results compared to infusion centers for individuals experiencing acute pain events and those battling sickle cell disease.

Treatment at an infusion center significantly enhances outcomes for patients with sickle cell disease experiencing uncomplicated vaso-occlusive crises, compared to treatment in the emergency department. This revelation is detailed in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

, and Administrator

2025 September 12 . 12:18 PM

2 min read

Acute pain patients and those with sickle cell disease experiencing improved results at pain... — Acute pain patients and those with sickle cell disease experiencing improved results at pain management centers instead of emergency rooms.

Emergency rooms offer less favorable results compared to infusion centers for individuals experiencing acute pain events and those battling sickle cell disease.

In a significant development, researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have conducted a study to understand the differences in mortality between adults entering HIV clinical care and the matched U.S. population. The study, which involved 13 U.S. sites participating in the North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design (NA-ACCORD), used data from the National Center for Health Statistics.

The study compared 5-year all-cause mortality between adults entering HIV clinical care between 1999 and 2017 and a matched subset of the U.S. population. The matched population was selected based on calendar time, age, sex, race/ethnicity, and county of residence.

The results of the study are promising, as they show a decrease in mortality among persons with HIV. This decrease is likely due to advances in care and treatment, new guidelines indicating earlier treatment, greater engagement in care, higher levels of viral suppression, a trend toward linking persons with HIV to care earlier in the course of infection, and evolving patient characteristics in the cohort over time.

The difference in mortality between people with HIV and the general population decreased over time, from 11.1% to 2.7%. This decrease was observed across all demographic subgroups studied, and it decreased more among non-Hispanic Black people than non-Hispanic White people.

However, it's worth noting that a separate search did not provide specific information about the institutions involved in a study investigating the link between treatment in an infusion center and better prognosis in patients with sickle cell disease and acute pain episodes.

This study is important because understanding differences in mortality between persons entering HIV care and the matched U.S. population is critical to monitor opportunities to improve care. The findings suggest that efforts to improve HIV care are working, and further research will be needed to understand the specific factors contributing to this decrease in mortality.