The spectrum of HIV infection in patients seen at a private hospital in Mexico City: 115 patients seen from 1984 to 1990.

The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology and clinical presentation of HIV infection among upper middle class patients in Mexico City. A retrospective review of outpatient and hospital records of all HIV-infected patients was accomplished by one of the authors between 1984 and 1990. A total of 115 patients were seen during the study period, 109 men and 6 women. One hundred and seven patients acquired HIV infection through sexual contact, six patients had HIV infection associated with blood transfusion and two were homosexual men who also had a history of intravenous drug use. The mean age of the patients was 36.2 years (range 13 - 65 years). CDC classification at presentation was predominantly stage IV (65%) with the most common AIDS associated diseases at presentation being wasting syndrome in 30 (42.2%), P. carinii pneumonia in 22 (30.9%), cytomegalovirus infection in 11 (15.5%), Cryptosporidium parvum diarrhea in 7 (9.8%), and Kaposi's sarcoma in 6 (8.4%). CD4+ T-lymphocyte cell counts at the time of HIV diagnosis were available in 87 patients (median = 150 cells/microliters; mean = 224 cells/microliters, SD +/- 219). Zidovudine was used in 37 patients after 1988 when it first became available in Mexico, in six patients the drug had to be discontinued because of serious hematologic toxicity. The average follow-up on zidovudine was 8.5 months. Similar age, gender, age distribution, risk categories and CDC classification at presentation was seen compared to other series reported from Mexico. However, the spectrum of opportunistic infections found were similar to that seen in the United States.