[Epidemiologic and clinical aspects of HIV infection in homosexual patients and intravenous drug addicts in a comparative study].

The clinical course of HIV-infection was analysed in a group of homosexual patients (n = 76, 72%) compared to intravenous drug abusers (IVDA, n = 30, 28%) in a retrospective cross-sectional study. The mean age of homosexual patients was 37.5 years compared to 28 years for IVDA. The following diseases are found significantly more frequently in homosexual patients compared to IVDA: Pneumocystis-carinii pneumonia (PCP) 17.1% vs. 0% (p < 0.05); Kaposi' sarcoma 16% vs. 0% (p < 0.05); diarrhoea 47.4% vs. 23.3% (p < 0.05); oral candidiasis 51.3% vs. 23.3% (p < 0.01); non-specific pneumonia of bacterial aetiology or due to unknown organisms 30% vs. 0% (p < 0.001) und seborrhoeic dermatitis 13.2% vs. 0% (p < 0.05). In contrast, viral hepatitis, non-specific abscesses and gonorrhoea were seen significantly more often in IVDA. The data show clearly that the spectra of HIV-associated diseases and HIV-unconnected diseases are significantly different in the two main groups. A risk-oriented preventive prophylaxis of HIV-related diseases and other infections is therefore required for each of these groups.