Inclusion Criteria

Concurrent Medication:

Allowed:

• Chemoprophylaxis for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), as aerosolized pentamidine.
• Ibuprofen.
• Acute therapy (7 days) with oral acyclovir.
• Acute therapy with ketoconazole.

Patients must have:

• A diagnosis of AIDS related complex as well as defined symptoms within 12 months of study entry in the absence of concurrent illness or conditions other than HIV infection.
• Estimated life expectancy of at least 12 weeks.
• Positive serum p24 antigen > 70 pg/ml. Patients may have received prior zidovudine (AZT) and / or interferon alpha therapy, provided that:
• The total duration of treatment was < 6 months. Patients treated > 12 weeks but < 6 months should have received continuous therapy (no more than 14 consecutive days or 21 total days off during the treatment period). For patients treated = or < 12 weeks, continuous treatment means < 7 days off total during the treatment period. For all patients, a washout period of = or > 4 weeks must have elapsed prior to study entry. Treatment did not result in a major adverse reaction attributable to AZT or IFN-A2a such that rechallenge at a randomly assigned dosage level would be precluded.

Exclusion Criteria

Co-existing Condition:

Patients with the following are excluded:

• Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) as defined by opportunistic infections.
• Significant cardiac (New York Heart Association Class 3 or 4), hepatic, renal, or neurologic disorder.
• Concurrent neoplasm other than basal cell carcinoma or in situ carcinoma of the cervix.
• Significant neurological disorder which impairs the patient's ability to give or receive informed consent or reduces the patient's performance status to the extent that protocol requirements and self-administration of drug cannot be accurately completed.

Concurrent Medication:

Excluded:

• All concomitant medications should be kept to a minimum.
• Chemoprophylaxis for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), other than aerosolized pentamidine.
• Other antiretroviral agents.
• Experimental medications.
• Biologic response modifiers.
• Systemic corticosteroids.
• Cimetidine.
• Ranitidine.
• Aspirin, acetaminophen, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents with the exception of ibuprofen.
• Barbiturates.
• Cardiac glycosides, antiarrhythmics, or vasodilators.
• Systemic treatment for an active infection, including pulmonary tuberculosis.

Concurrent Treatment:

Excluded:

• Systemic treatment for an active infection, including pulmonary tuberculosis.

Patients with the following will be excluded from the study:

• AIDS as defined by opportunistic infections, Kaposi's sarcoma, or other AIDS defining neoplasms, HIV dementia complex, or HIV wasting disease.
• HIV constitutional disease. Any one of the following:
• Fever of > 38.5 degrees persisting for > 1 month.
• Involuntary weight loss of = or > 10 lbs or 10 percent of body weight.
• Diarrhea defined as = or > 2 liquid stools per day persisting for at least a total of 14 days without definable cause.
• Significant cardiac (New York Heart Association Class 3 or 4), hepatic, renal, or neurologic disorder.
• Concurrent neoplasm other than basal cell carcinoma or in situ carcinoma of the cervix.
• Significant neurological disorder which impairs the patient's ability to give or receive informed consent or reduces the patient's performance status to the extent that protocol requirements and self-administration of drug cannot be accurately completed.
• Prior AZT or IFN-A2a therapy for = or > 6 months.
• Previous major adverse reaction to AZT or IFN-A2a.

Prior Medication:

Excluded:

• Prior zidovudine (AZT) or interferon therapy for = or > 6 months.
• Excluded within 4 weeks of study entry:
• Any antiretroviral agent, Cytotoxic chemotherapy, or immunomodulator, including corticosteroids.
• Excluded within 30 days of study entry:
• Anti-infectives or agents likely to produce hematologic side effects (e.g., trimethoprim / sulfamethoxazole).
• Excluded: Cardiac glycosides, antiarrhythmics, or vasodilators.

Active substance abuse.