Palliative Care in the Management of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome in the Primary Care Setting

Abstract

Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) has metamorphosed in the past 40 years since the first cases were diagnosed. The advent of highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) transformed the disease trajectory for many patients with HIV/AIDS and transitioned the course from a terminal disease to a chronic disease model. This article reviews the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS, prognostic indicators, frailty, opportunistic infections, specific AIDS-defining malignancies and non-AIDS-defining malignancies, role of palliative care, advance care planning, and the role of HAART in patients dying of late-stage AIDS.

Keywords: Aging population; HIV/AIDS; Malignancies; Palliative care.