Gender Differences in Care for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome–Related Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia

Abstract

The number of women with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in the United States is increasing.1 Some reports have suggested that clinical manifestations of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in women may differ from those in men and that mortality rates for certain AIDS-defining illnesses are higher in women.2–6 In particular, in-hospital mortality rates for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), the most common severe opportunistic infection for persons with AIDS in the United States,7 have been shown to be worse for women compared with men.3 In a recent study8 of 4,500 persons with HIV infection, women were one third more likely to die earlier, without an AIDS-defining illness, than were men. Survival differences have been largely attributed to the differences between men and women with AIDS in severity of illness, degree of immunosuppression, and access to care.3,8–12 © 1998 by The Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health Published by Elsevier Science Inc. 1049-3867/98/$19.00 PII S1049-3867(97)00073-X