The causes of death for 89 HIV/AIDS patients / 中华临床感染病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To analyze the causes of death for 89 HIV/AIDS patients,and the association of CD4+ T lymphocyte counts with the mortality.Methods Data were collected from 89 deceasedpatients who were admitted to Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center from Jan 1996 to Sep 2007,and wereretrospectively analyzed with t-test.Results Heterosexual,blood transfusion and blood products were themajor transmission routs for 89 deceased HIV/AIDS patients.The primary causes of death varied with different levels of CD4+ T lymphocyte counts.With higher CD4+T lymphocyte counts,patients were more likelyto die from non-AIDS-related opportunistic infections such as upper digestive tract hemorrhage.Serious pulmonary infection induced by various etiologies was the primary cause of death.Co-infections of multiple etiologics were often seen in these death cases.Conclusion Opportunistic infection is the primary cause of death for HIV/AIDS patients.Appropriate therapies should be based on CD4+ T lymphocyte counts and patients' specific conditions to reduce the mortality.