title: Prognostic indicators in patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and respiratory infection.
abstract: The records of 63 patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and respiratory infection comprising 78 hospitalizations over a 36-month period were reviewed to ascertain the etiology of the respiratory infection and to identify the factors influencing short-term survival. Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) was diagnosed on 56 occasions in 46 patients. Fifty percent of patients with PCP died with respiratory failure; of these, all but 1 were diagnosed using fiber-optic bronchoscopy. In 18 patients in whom PCP was not identified by bronchoscopy, the in-hospital mortality was 17%. Of the clinical and laboratory findings on admission, only the arterial PO2 and the alveolar-arterial PO2 (AaPO2) difference were significantly different between the survivors and nonsurvivors. In patients with PCP and a AaPO2 greater than 60 mm Hg, 92% died. The demonstration of P. carinii by fiber-optic bronchoscopy and the presence of markedly abnormal gas exchange are associated with high in-hospital mortality.
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D001706:Biopsy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D011020:Pneumonia, Pneumocystis / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*; D011379:Prognosis; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen