From Casey House Hospice-Toronto: Causes of Death in HIV Patients and the Evolution of an AIDS Hospice: 1988-2008

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22666562

AIDS Res Treat. 2012;2012:390406. Epub 2012 May 17.

Causes of Death in HIV Patients and the Evolution of an AIDS Hospice: 1988-2008.

Stewart A, Chan Carusone S, To K, Schaefer-McDaniel N, Halman M, Grimes R.

Source

Casey House Hospice, Toronto, ON, Canada M4Y 2K8.

Abstract

This paper reports on the transformation that has occurred in the care of people living with HIV/AIDS in a Toronto Hospice. Casey House opened in the pre-HAART era to care exclusively for people with HIV/AIDS, an incurable disease. At the time, all patients were admitted for palliative care and all deaths were due to AIDS-defining conditions. AIDS-defining malignancies accounted for 22 percent of deaths, mainly, Kaposi sarcoma and lymphoma. In the post-HAART era, AIDS-defining malignancies dropped dramatically and non-AIDS-defining malignancies became a significant cause of death, including livercancer, lung cancer and gastric cancers. In the post-HAART era, people living with HIV/AIDS served at Casey House have changed considerably, with increasing numbers of patients facing homelessness and mental health issues, including substance use. Casey House offers a picture of the evolving epidemic and provides insight into changes and improvements made in the care of these patients.