BACKGROUND: New forms of HIV/AIDS therapy require new surveillance instruments to meet shifting public health demands. The Clinical Surveillance of HIV Disease (ClinSurv HIV) project was established in 1999 as a collaboration between major HIV treatment centres in Germany and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The project contributes to national HIV surveillance and focuses on the changing epidemiology of HIV/AIDS after the introduction of new therapies in 1995. METHODS: ClinSurv HIV is designed as an open multicentre observational cohort study of HIV-infected patients. Anonymized data on diagnoses, treatment and laboratory parameters are collected in a standardized format. Data are currently sampled biannually via 11 centres specializing in HIV diagnosis and care within the legal framework of the German Protection against Infection Act [Infektionsschutzgesetz (IfSG)]. RESULTS: A total of 14874 patients were enrolled in the study by 30 June 2009. Of these, 10221 patients (68.7%) were enrolled after 1 January 1999 and 6006 patients (40.4%) were known to have been diagnosed as positive for HIV before 1999. Evaluation indicators, such as the number of newly enrolled patients per half-year period, loss to follow-up, completeness of data per case, availability of data per possible clinical contact, and internal quality control parameters, show a very stable evolution in the cohort, which although open, can be observed. Comparison with the national HIV surveillance data suggests a high degree of representativeness according to major demographic variables. CONCLUSION: Bearing in mind the obvious strengths and weaknesses discussed, the German ClinSurv HIV cohort provides a broad range of research opportunities in the field of HIV/AIDS both within Germany and in international collaborative research.
BACKGROUND: New forms of HIV/AIDS therapy require new surveillance instruments to meet shifting public health demands. The Clinical Surveillance of HIV Disease (ClinSurv HIV) project was established in 1999 as a collaboration between major HIV treatment centres in Germany and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The project contributes to national HIV surveillance and focuses on the changing epidemiology of HIV/AIDS after the introduction of new therapies in 1995. METHODS: ClinSurv HIV is designed as an open multicentre observational cohort study of HIV-infectedpatients. Anonymized data on diagnoses, treatment and laboratory parameters are collected in a standardized format. Data are currently sampled biannually via 11 centres specializing in HIV diagnosis and care within the legal framework of the German Protection against Infection Act [Infektionsschutzgesetz (IfSG)]. RESULTS: A total of 14874 patients were enrolled in the study by 30 June 2009. Of these, 10221 patients (68.7%) were enrolled after 1 January 1999 and 6006 patients (40.4%) were known to have been diagnosed as positive for HIV before 1999. Evaluation indicators, such as the number of newly enrolled patients per half-year period, loss to follow-up, completeness of data per case, availability of data per possible clinical contact, and internal quality control parameters, show a very stable evolution in the cohort, which although open, can be observed. Comparison with the national HIV surveillance data suggests a high degree of representativeness according to major demographic variables. CONCLUSION: Bearing in mind the obvious strengths and weaknesses discussed, the German ClinSurv HIV cohort provides a broad range of research opportunities in the field of HIV/AIDS both within Germany and in international collaborative research.
Authors: Lena Fiebig; Christian Kollan; Barbara Hauer; Barbara Gunsenheimer-Bartmeyer; Matthias An der Heiden; Osamah Hamouda; Walter Haas Journal: PLoS One Date: 2012-11-07 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Matthias Stoll; Christian Kollan; Frank Bergmann; Johannes Bogner; Gerd Faetkenheuer; Carlos Fritzsche; Kirsten Hoeper; Heinz-August Horst; Jan van Lunzen; Andreas Plettenberg; Stefan Reuter; Jürgen Rockstroh; Hans-Jürgen Stellbrink; Osamah Hamouda; Barbara Bartmeyer Journal: PLoS One Date: 2011-09-09 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Daniel Schmidt; Christian Kollan; Gerd Fätkenheuer; Eugen Schülter; Hans-Jürgen Stellbrink; Christian Noah; Björn-Erik Ole Jensen; Matthias Stoll; Johannes R Bogner; Josef Eberle; Karolin Meixenberger; Claudia Kücherer; Osamah Hamouda; Barbara Bartmeyer Journal: PLoS One Date: 2014-08-22 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Daniel Schmidt; Christian Kollan; Matthias Stoll; Hans-Jürgen Stellbrink; Andreas Plettenberg; Gerd Fätkenheuer; Frank Bergmann; Johannes R Bogner; Jan van Lunzen; Jürgen Rockstroh; Stefan Esser; Björn-Erik Ole Jensen; Heinz-August Horst; Carlos Fritzsche; Andrea Kühne; Matthias an der Heiden; Osamah Hamouda; Barbara Bartmeyer Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2015-03-17 Impact factor: 3.295