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Table 3:   LEADING REASONS FOR REFERRAL


N=132

Leading reasons for referral:1

n (%)
End-stage AIDS 62 (47)
Active opportunistic infection 28/62 (45)
Other infections 18/62 (29)
Malignancy2 26 (20)
Pain 18 (14)
End-stage liver disease 17 (13)
Psychosocial/ end-of-life issues 14 (11)
Depression 7 (5)
Mental status changes 3 (2)
End-stage renal disease 3 (2)
Other co-morbid illness 14 (11)

1 Multiple reasons may be present for individual patients, reasons as indicated by referring clinicians.

2 Most frequent malignancies were: lymphoma (n=7), lung (n=4), Kaposi's sarcoma (n=3), gastrointestinal (n=3), head and neck (n=3), other hematologic (n=2).

[Citation: Selwyn PA, Rivard M, Kappell D, Goeren B, LaFosse H, Schwartz C, Caraballo R, Luciano D, Post LF. Palliative care for AIDS at a large urban teaching hospital: Program description and preliminary outcomes. Innovations in End-of-Life Care. 2002;4(3), www.edc.org/lastacts/]

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