Palliative care in the management of advanced HIV/AIDS.

The basic elements of palliative care can be translated into practice for patients with HIV/AIDS. More than half of clinical events and deaths occurring among patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy are classified as non-AIDS illnesses. Thus, end-of-life care for patients with late-stage AIDS needs to include any palliative measures that are used for patients without AIDS. This article reviews the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS, prognostic indicators, opportunistic infections, specific AIDS-defining and non-AIDS-defining malignancies, substance abuse/liver disease, and highly active antiretroviral therapy and comfort measures for late-stage AIDS patients.