News Notes:

(1) British Study: People with AIDS Living Twice As Long

A study of medical records, published January 25 in the British Medical Journal, found that AIDS survival doubled between 1984 and 1987, from a median of 10 months to 20 months, among patients treated at St. Mary's Hospital in London. According to a Reuters report on the study (we have not yet obtained the original article), deaths from pneumocystis dropped from 46 percent in 1986 to 3 percent in 1989.

KS and lymphoma were increasing as causes of death, apparently because people were living longer due to improved prevention and treatment of other AIDS complications.

(2) Hospital Deaths Higher for Uninsured

A study of over half a million discharge records of patients hospitalized in the United States in 1987 found that the in- hospital death rate was 1.2 to 3.2 times higher among uninsured patients, in 11 of 16 groups which were analyzed. The study also found that although uninsured patients were in worse condition than privately insured patients when they entered the hospital, they were discharged sooner.

The study was published January 16 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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