Signs, symptoms and clinical course in the first one hundred patients with AIDS

One hundred consecutive patients are described who were diagnosed as suffering from AIDS. In almost 50% Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia was the initial complication, alone or in combination with other opportunistic infections. Kaposi's sarcoma was the second presenting AIDS manifestation. Mean survival was limited: 6 months after diganosis half of the patients had died. After treatment of the first disease manifestation, the majority of the patients could return to their homes in a reasonably good condition. On an average the patients spend 68 days in the hospital (divided over 3 admissions). The indication for admission to an intensive care unit should be handled with reserve.