Characteristics of Persons Living with AIDS at the End of 1997. HIV/AIDS Surveillance Supplemental Report, Volume 5, Number 1

摘要

Recent developments in medical and pharmacologic therapies have significantly increased the survival time for persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Historic patterns of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) incidence no longer provide unbiased information on trends in HIV transmission by demographic, risk, or geographic categories. AIDS incidence is affected by patterns of testing, access to health care, and effectiveness of treatment. In addition, historic patterns of death for persons with AIDS are no longer as reliable for estimating survival after an AIDS diagnosis because persons with AIDS are living longer. Survival patterns are changing as the effects of combination therapies change the epidemiology of disease progression.