Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether older age influences patterns of care and in-hospital mortality for persons hospitalized with AIDS-relatedPneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP).
DESIGN: Retrospective chart review.
PATIENTS/SETTING: Patients (2,174) with AIDS-related PCP in 96 hospitals in five cities from 1987 through 1990.
OUTCOME MEASURE: In-hospital mortality.
MAIN RESULTS: Compared with younger patients, patients aged 50 years or older were less likely to have acquired HIV via intravenous drug use or homosexual contact (p=.0001). Older patients were more likely to have comorbid diseases (12% vs 4%;p=.0001), had more frequent neurologic findings on admission (19% vs 9%;p=.0001), and scored higher on a PCP-specific severity-of-illness scale indicating more severe disease (p=.0001). Older patients had more intensive care unit admissions and intubations (p=.0001). Patients aged 50 years or older were less likely to have a diagnosis of HIV mentioned in their progress notes during the first 2 days of admission (75% vs 85%;p=.0001), less likely to receive PCP-specific therapy within the first 2 hospital days (58% vs 76%;p=.0001), and more likely to receive steroids (32% vs 22%;p=.0001). Older patients had a greater in-hospital mortality (32% vs 18%;p=.0001). However, in logistic regression analysis with mortality as the outcome, the effect of older age was diminished when adjustments were made for insurance status, severity of illness, comorbidity, timely PCP therapy, and inpatient use of steroids.
CONCLUSIONS: Age differences in mortality for AIDS-related PCP may be explained by increased severity of presenting illness, underrecognition of HIV, and delay in initiation of PCP-specific therapy. Physicians may need to consider HIV-related infections for persons aged 50 years or older at risk of HIV infection.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report. 1995;7:15.
El-Sadr W, Gettler J. Unrecognized human immunodeficiency virus infection in the elderly. Arch Intern Med. 1995;155:184–6.
Stall R, Catania J. AIDS risk behaviors among late middle-aged and elderly Americans. Arch Intern Med. 1994;154:57–63.
Saah A, Hoover D, He Y, Kingsley L, Phair J. Factors influencing survival after AIDS: report from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 1994;7:287–95.
Ship J, Wolff A, Selik R. Epidemiology of acquired immune deficiency syndrome in persons aged 50 and older. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 1991;4:84–8.
Bastian L, Bennett C, Adams J, Waskin H, Divine G, Edlin B. Differences between men and women with HIV-relatedPneumocystis carinii pneumonia: experience from 3,070 cases in New York City in 1987. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 1993;6:617–23.
Sorkin J, Bolton P, Greenblatt J, Sithisarankul P, Vlahov D, Graham N. Age, gender and other predictors of the wasting syndrome among HIV-1 infected injecting drug users. Epidemiology. 1995;6:172–7.
Oken C, Archhibald N, Cvitanic M, Biddle A, Shapiro M, Bennett C. Multicity study of quality of care for HIV-relatedPneumocystis carinii pneumonia: successfully collecting highly sensitive information. Clin Perf Qual Health Care. 1995;3:140–46.
Bennett C, Weinstein R, Shapiro M, et al. A rapid preadmission method for predicting inpatient course of disease for patients with HIV-relatedPneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 1994;150:1503–7.
Bennett C, Mathews W, Kosecoff J, Kanouse D. Results of a consensus panel on process of care for patients withPneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Montreal, Quebec: Fifth International Conference on AIDS; June 1989. Abstract 284.
Bennett C, Adams J, Gertler P, et al. Relation between hospital experience and in-hospital mortality for patients with AIDS-relatedPneumocystis carinii pneumonia: experience from 3126 cases in New York City in 1987. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 1992;5:856–64.
Bennett C, Garfinkle J, Greenfield S, et al. The relation between hospital experience and in-hospital mortality for patients with AIDS-related PCP. JAMA. 1989;261:2975–9.
Hoover D, Saah A, Bacellar H. Clinical manifestations of AIDS in the era ofPneumocystis prophylaxis. N Engl J Med. 1993;329:1922–6.
Masur H. Prevention and treatment ofPneumocystis pneumonia. N Engl J Med. 1992;327:1853–60.
Bennett C, Horner R, Weinstein R, et al. Racial differences in care among hospitalized patients withPneumocystis carinii pneumonia in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Raleigh-Durham. Arch Intern Med. 1995;155:1586–92.
Horner RD, Bennett CL, Rodriguez D, et al. Relationship between procedures and health insurance for critically ill patients withPneumocystis carinii pneumonia. Am J of Resp and Crit Care Med. 1995;152:1435–42.
Bennett CL, Horner RD, Aboulafia D, Weinstein RA. Patterns of care and outcomes of pneumocystis transfusion-acquired AIDS. Transfusion. 1995;35:674–8.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Supported in part by the Lawrence Linn Research Trust (SAK), the VA Health Services Research and Career Development Award (EZO, CLB), and the Robert Wood Johnson Generalist Physician Faculty Scholars Program (EZO).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Keitz, S.A., Bastian, L.A., Bennett, C.L. et al. AIDS-relatedPneumocystis carinii pneumonia in older patients. J Gen Intern Med 11, 591–596 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02599026
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02599026