Length of survival of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome in the United Kingdom.

An analysis of the lengths of survival of patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome presenting with different opportunistic diseases was performed using epidemiological data routinely collected at the PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre. The overall crude case fatality rate was 55.4% (93/168). The median survival times were: 21.2 months for Kaposi's sarcoma, 12.5 months for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, and 13.3 months for other opportunistic infections. The shortest median survival time (6.6 months) was found for those with both Kaposi's sarcoma and P carinii pneumonia. There were significant differences between durations of survival of patients with Kaposi's sarcoma and those with all other diseases, which indicated impaired cellular immunity apart from opportunistic infections. This analysis shows that those with Kaposi's sarcoma alone have the most favourable prognosis.