Pain and other symptoms in ambulatory HIV patients in the age of highly active antiretroviral therapy

Abstract

To determine whether and how highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has influenced the prevalence of pain and other symptoms experienced in persons with HIV disease, HIV+ patients at an urban outpatient clinic were asked to complete a symptom checklist before seeing a clinician. Among those who completed the checklists (N = 484), 68% reported at least one symptom and 96% of those reported more than one symptom. Almost half of this cohort reported symptoms with an intensity of 5 or greater, indicating symptoms of at least moderate to severe intensity. The most frequently experienced symptoms were fatigue, trouble sleeping, anxiety, and pain. Despite methodological limitations, the results of this survey project indicate that pain and other symptoms--though less frequent than during the pre-HAART era--continue to be a problem.