AIDS-defining Illnesses among Patients with HIV in Singapore, 1985 to 2001: Results from the Singapore HIV Observational Cohort Study (SHOCS)

The objective was to describe the causes of initial and overall AIDS-defining disease episodes among HIV patients in Singapore.

A retrospective observational cohort study was performed of all adult patients seen at the national HIV referral center between 1985 and 2001. Data were extracted from the patients' records by ten trained healthcare workers. AIDS-defining conditions were established using predefined criteria.