AIDS patients survival in the Basque Country (Northern Spain):: 1984-1995

Objective : To study survival of AIDS patients in the Basque Country (Northern Spain), by analyzing changes in survival throughout time. Design: Retrospective study of adult and adolescent AIDS patients declared at the Basque Country AIDS Prevention and Control Plan between 1984 and 1995. Results: 3104 patients was registered, of whom 2070 (66.7%) had died at deadline study date. Median survival of the population was 24 months after AIDS diagnosis. Estimated survival was 68.7% at 1(st) year and 38.4% at 3(rd) year. Univariate analysis showed significant differences in survival according to the following factors: age, transmission mechanism, AIDS-defining disease, and the time of diagnosis. In multivariate analysis, the only variables with independent prognostic value influencing survival were age and initial AIDS-defining disease. Death risk increases with patient age at the moment of AIDS diagnosis (1.023 for each additional year of age). Risk associated to initial AIDS-defining disease is very variable, ranging from 0.76 for extrapulmonary tuberculosis to 2.20 for lymphoma.