| Abstrakt: |
The number of patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is estimated to double or triple in the next eight years. The increase in patients with this ultimately fatal disease will markedly increase the burden on already limited and expensive critical care resources. Therefore, difficult questions concerning ethical, economical, and clinical care of these patients will become a frequent problem for the intensivist. The majority of AIDS patients (70 ) admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) will require care for respiratory failure, 25 for other AIDS related complications, and 5 for reasons unrelated to their immunodeficiency. |
