We evaluated the demographics and beliefs regarding safety and efficacy of herbal therapy among individuals in Iowa and assessed the willingness to discuss the use of these products with health care providers. We distributed 1300 surveys to two random samples: patients attending eight clinics, and residents of the state (mailing). Data were categorized according to herb use and compared between users and nonusers. The response rate was 61% (794 people), with 41.6% of respondents reporting herb use. They were predominately white women and were likely to have had education beyond high school (p<0.05). Their use of prescription drugs was high (p<0.05). Although users rated safety and efficacy of herbs higher than nonusers (p<0.05), both groups believed that health care providers should be aware of use and would provide this information.

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The AIDS epidemic has led to the emergence of several disease entities which in the pre-AIDS era were rare or seemingly innocuous. Experience of treating these diseases varies. In some instances, such as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, there is an abundance of published literature to direct our course of action. However, for many of these newly recognised diseases our treatment experience is limited. Furthermore, in many instances, well controlled trials evaluating treatment modalities in the AIDS population are lacking. We have identified 13 disease entities (P. carinii pneumonia, toxoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, histoplasmosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium avium complex, cytomegalovirus, coccidioidomycosis, isosporiasis, candidosis, Kaposi's sarcoma, herpes simplex virus, and varicella zoster virus) and have reviewed the current literature with regard to their treatment.

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