The clinical profile of end-stage AIDS in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy.

The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical profile of end-stage acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) since the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). A cross-sectional examination of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients who attended a public HIV outpatient clinic and died between 1996 and 2001 was conducted (n = 669). All clinical and demographic data were collected from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Adult Spectrum of Disease database. The prevalence of first-time acquisition of AIDS-defining conditions 12 months before death were evaluated. The prevalence of renal disease, hepatic disease and substance use were also evaluated. The majority of the patients were 35 years old or older, male, African American and HAART-experienced. The six AIDS-defining conditions with the highest percentages of first-time acquisition in the last 12 months of life were HIV dementia (91.8%), progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) (91.7%), wasting (90.9%), Mycobacterium avium complex infection (MAC) (80.0%), lymphoma (78.6%), and cytomegalovirus infection (CMV) (78.1%). Forty-four percent of the patients were diagnosed with at least one of these six conditions 12 months before death. More than one third of the patients had renal or hepatic failure, injecting drug use (IDU) as the HIV risk factor, and history of substance use. AIDS-defining conditions continue to have an impact on mortality, especially the neurologic conditions and wasting. However, other conditions, such as renal and hepatic disease, are becoming important causes of mortality because the HIV-infected population now includes more drug users, and HIV-infected patients are surviving for longer periods. These results should help clinicians better time the discussion of end-stage options and improve the patient's quality of life.