Objective: To establish the characteristics and causes of death of HIV patients who die while hospitalized.
Materials and methods: We included HIV+ patients who died during hospitalization, in three hospitals in Mexico City between 2010 and 2013. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected as well as causes of death. We identified preventable deaths (defined as deaths that occurred in patients with less than six months of HAART, or without HAART, with less than 350 CD4 at diagnosis and/or opportunistic events as the cause of hospitalization).
Results: 128 deaths were analyzed. The median of CD4 count was 47 cells/mm³; 18% of the patients ignored their HIV status at the time of hospitalization, 51% had less than six months of HAART, 40.5% had never received HAART before. The main causes of death were AIDS defining events, with 65.6%. We identified 70 preventable deaths (57%).
Conclusions: Despite universal access to HAART, HIV patients in Mexico are still dying of AIDS defining illnesses, an indicator of late diagnosis. It is urgent to implement HIV testing programs to allow earlier diagnosis and make HAART benefit accessible to all.