title: The incidence and spectrum of AIDS-defining illnesses in persons treated with antiretroviral drugs.
abstract: The incidence and spectrum of primary AIDS-defining illnesses in human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients receiving antiretroviral drugs may have changed since the introduction of newer antiretroviral agents. We performed a retrospective analysis of patients enrolled in the British Columbia Drug Treatment Program who were ever prescribed antiretroviral drugs between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1996. Rates were calculated on a 6-month basis. There were 344 AIDS cases diagnosed among 2,533 participants between 1994 and 1996. The incidence of primary AIDS diseases decreased from 1994 to 1996, with a sharp decline in 1995 and 1996. There was no statistically significant change in the incidence of primary AIDS diagnoses relative to one another, and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and Kaposi's sarcoma remain the most common AIDS index diagnoses. In patients receiving antiretroviral therapy in the modern era, the incidence of AIDS-defining illnesses has decreased substantially, but the spectrum of AIDS-defining illnesses remains unchanged.
authors.affiliation: British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Forrest
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Seminari
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Hogg
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yip
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Raboud
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lawson
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Schechter
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: O'Shaughnessy
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Montaner
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001955:British Columbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006679:HIV Seropositivity; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents