Pérez C, Guillén A, Caraballo S, Silva E, Gonzalez J, Guzman M, Comegna M.
Materials and methods: This was an observational, retrospective, and descriptive study that included patients diagnosed with HIV who died at the Vargas Hospital in Caracas (HVC) during 2018. Data were processed using IBM SPSS Statistics® version 20 and presented as relative and absolute frequencies, measures of central tendency, and tables. Results: In 2018, 1,322 deaths occurred among patients hospitalized for all causes at HVC, and 73 (5.52%) of these deaths were among patients with HIV. Only 51 medical records were available for review. 76.47% of the sample was male, with a mean age of 39.13 years. Only 19.6% and 15.6% of patients had recent viral load and CD4 count data, respectively. Of these, 70% had a viral load above 100,000 RNA copies/ml and 75% had a CD4+ count below 200 cells/mm³. 31.7% (n=16) were receiving antiretroviral therapy at the time of death. 56.86% (n=29) had opportunistic infections, and 74.50% of the deaths were associated with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Conclusions: There was a 128% increase in the number of deaths among patients with HIV infection compared to 2017 figures. The deceased were mostly young people with advanced disease.