Clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients from Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil, with AIDS and oportunistic infections

Abstract

In order to up-to-date informations about the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of AIDS patients with opportunistic infections, from the Ribeirão Preto region, we revised 1019 medical records of individuals belonging to IVc AIDS sub-group attended in HCFMRP in the period from January 1992 to August 1996. The following parameters were analyzed: date of the first medical examination, sex, age, city of residence, probable form of acquisition of HIV, time of the first anti-HIV positive test, number of CD4+/mm3 lymphocytes at the beginning of the follow-up, date of the first infectious episodes after the beginning of the follow-up, type and number of infectious episodes, date of the death and the type of infectious processes diagnosed in the patients that died. The results point out for important modifications in some characteristics of the patients over the last five years. We noted, by comparing with the results obtained in the period of 1987 to 1991, an increase in the heterosexual transmission of HIV and an increase of the number of women with AIDS; a tendency of an early diagnosis of the HIV infection and an increase in patients’ survival. In the other hand patients continued presenting a wide range of infectious processes during the AIDS evolution with emphasis for candidiasis, for bacterial pneumonia, for neuro-toxoplasmosis, for pneumocystosis, for sinusitis, for diarrhoea, and for neuro-cryptococcosis. Special mention must be done for tuberculosis, which was diagnosed in 30% of the patients during the follow-up period.