There are no guidelines regarding the discontinuation of antiretroviral therapy at the end of life.

We retrospectively reviewed our databases and identified patients with HIV/AIDS who died over the last 12 months in our HIV clinic.

A total of 41 patients from our HIV clinic died in a period of 12 months. Seventy-three percent of the patients were on antiretroviral therapy during the last clinic visit. During the last 3 months of life, 32% (13 of 41) were off antiretroviral therapy, with 77% (10 of 13) of them having intermittent therapy due to noncompliance. The remaining 23% (3 of 13) decided to stop antiretroviral therapy after discussion among families, patients, and providers.

Discussions among providers, patients, and families are encouraged to establish goals of care and role of antiretrovirals during the last months of life.