AIDS-defining illnesses

NEW YORK, July 24 (Praxis Press) The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) may have altered clinical patterns of HIV-related diseases. Mocroft and colleagues studied the incidence and types of AIDS-defining illnesses (ADIs) in European outpatient clinics between 1994 (pre-HAART) and 1998 (post-HAART). The incidence of ADIs declined significantly, and rates of ADIs were lower among patients receiving HAART for all CD4-cell strata. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma became one of the most common ADIs. Although HAART has decreased the incidence of ADIs, physicians are likely to encounter previously uncommon types of ADIs.