In reply

Abstract

We appreciate the comments of Marcus and Clarf-ield in reference to our study published in the January issue of the Journal. Standard deviation of the patients age in each group was as follows: 15.2 years for the group less than 65 years of age and 7.9 years for the group 65 years and older. When the “old” group was subdivided further into two categories, 65 to 74 years and 75 years and older, mortality of patients in relation to age and functional status continues to show the influence of impaired functional status on outcome (Table 1). On the other hand, all consecutive patients with a positive blood culture for Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacilli during the study period were included in the prospective study, as were patients with AIDS. However, although AIDS was more common in the younger group, the mortality of AIDS patients was higher in the most disabled. In our opinion, functional status is a better prognostic factor than age because it indicates the severity of comorbidity independent of the comorbid process itself. AIDS is a comorbid process with independent prognostic influence, but impaired functional status acts as a confounder.