ABSTRACT
Jill was diagnosed with AIDS several years before being referred for hospice care. On admission she reported her CD4+ count to be 10. She presented this information in a flat monotone. At 5'8" and 110 pounds, she was at high risk of being nutritionally compromised and recently began IV nutrition. The most recent addition to her medication list was Biaxin (clarithromycin) as prophylaxis for MAC (mycobacterium avium complex), which was causing diarrhea. She had been hospitalized repeatedly for bacterial pneumonia. She had learned to manage the self-infusion of TPN (total parenteral nutrition) as well as the care of a Hickman catheter. In addition, she was receiving prophylaxis for PCP, candidiasis, and recurrent genital herpes. A nurse from the home infusion company had been making home visits twice a week to administer intravenous Neupogen (granulocyte colony stimulated factor [G-CSF]) and to draw blood.
