The epidemiology of tuberculosis in patients with AIDS in Puerto Rico: morbidity and survival, 1981-1998.
METHODS
Puerto Rico.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the characteristics and survival experience of AIDS patients with tuberculosis (TB) from 1981 through 1998.


METHODS
A population based study using the AIDS Surveillance System, including survival analysis.


RESULTS
During the period studied, 1000 AIDS cases were reported with TB, representing 4.3% of total cases. Of these, males accounted for 82.1%, and 84% were diagnosed with pulmonary TB. Approximately 71% of the cases were reported as having died. AIDS cases who were intravenous drug users (IDU) accounted for 63.7% of the cases. The median survival of AIDS/TB cases was 21.4 months, and did not differ by sex or TB site (P > 0.05). IDUs with TB had a longer survival than IDUs with other AIDS-defining conditions; however, AIDS/TB cases with a CD4 count < 200/mm3 had a poorer survival (23.4 months) than those with a count of > or = 200/mm3 (47.9 months).


CONCLUSIONS
The overall prevalence of TB in AIDS patients in Puerto Rico is low compared with other countries. As in other studies, the variable that explained poorer survival among AIDS/TB cases was the CD4+ lymphocyte count. Further prospective studies regarding survival in the Hispanic population are needed to confirm these findings.
Pérez-Perdomo
R
R
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Medical Sciences Campus, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan 00936-5067, USA. ros_perez@rcmaca.upr.clu.edu
Pérez-Cardona
C M
CM
Suárez-Pérez
E
E
D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality*; D000328:Adult; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D011647:Puerto Rico / Q000453:epidemiology; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality