[AIDS: descriptive study and survival analysis of the 1st 40 cases]

To analyze the epidemiologic and clinical features, the survival as well as length of stay of the first 40 AIDS cases seen at the internal Medicine Department of the Virgen de la Arrixaca Hospital (Murcia, Spain).

Prospective study from September 1988 through July 1991. AIDS criteria used were the CDC (1987) ones. The survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Thirty-four patients were male (85%) and six female (15%), with a mean age of 39 years. Eighteen (45%) were homo or bisexual, 11 drug addicts (27.5%), 8 (20%) had sexual contacts with prostitutes and/or drug addicts. Two patients were recipients of blood products and in one case no risk could be determined. Opportunistic infections were the first AIDS criteria in 75% of cases. Among the most frequent are P. carinii pneumonia (17.5%), CNS toxoplasmosis (15%) and cryptosporidiosis (12.5%). In 20% of cases a Kaposi's sarcoma developed. The probability of survival after three months was 91% +/- 9.6, at 7 months 79.5% +/- 15.0 and at 15 months 72.5 +/- 18. Overall, 90% of patients had at least one hospital admission, and 27.7% were hospitalized for 50% of more of their survival time.

We recorded an increased number of AIDS cases since 1988, being most of them homo-bisexual male patients, with opportunistic infections as first manifestation. We noticed also high proportion of cases of heterosexual transmission.