Are AIDS patients different? – An analysis of drug usage in the terminal phase of AIDS

There is a perception that the palliative care needs of patients with AIDS are different from those required for patients with cancer or other terminal illness. One particular issue often raised when palliative care units admit patients with AIDS is the legitimacy of administering a wide range of drugs used for the treatment and prevention of opportunistic infections. The author has had the experience of introducing the practice of administering intravenous gancyclovir for patients with AIDS in a hospice in Melbourne. However, his recent appointment to the Continuing Care Unit (CCU), (a ten bed unit established in December 1992 to provide for the palliative care needs of patients with advanced AIDS at Fairfield Hospital, Melbourne), has been a baptism of fire in relation to the complexities of treatment when caring for patients with AIDS.

During the year 1 July 1993 to 30 June 1994 there were 50 deaths in the unit. This paper will report the results of a retrospective analysis of drugs used in the terminal stage of these patients disease and may allay some fears and misunderstandings of the needs of patients with AIDS and facilitate increased sharing of services and resources.