[The efficacy of antiretroviral treatment in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection. A study of 807 patients].

Background: The natural history of HIV infection and its related diseases has changed after the introduction of new potent antiretroviral therapies (HAART). We have performed this study to analyse in our hospital the natural history of HIV infection in relation to the therapeutics advances.

Patients And Methods: We have exhaustively revised the clinic records of all the 807 adult HIV-infected patients followed at the HUC from January 1985 to December 1999.

Results: The incidence of most opportunistic diseases, new AIDS cases, hospital admissions and deaths decreased as from 1997. Patients who started antiretroviral therapy with HAART had lower incidence of AIDS, hospital admissions and deaths than patients with other therapy modalities. Survival of patients placed on HAART was better than that of patients who received different therapy modalities (p < 0.001), independently on the intensity of immunosuppression and AIDS diagnosis. Multivariate analysis showed that HAART therapy was the best protector factor, decreasing the risk of progression to death (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: HAART therapy leads an important improvement of survival of HIV infected patients, independently an the intensity of immunosuppression and slows HIV progression, decreasing the number of new AIDS cases, hospital admissions and deaths.