['To describe the patterns and correlates of discontinuation of the initial highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimen in an urban, outpatient cohort of antiretroviral-naive patients.', 'Retrospective cohort of 345 randomly selected antiretroviral-naive patients who initiated HAART on 6 selected regimens between January 1997 and May 2001 in New Orleans, LA.', 'An investigator reviewed medical records to collect information on concurrent medications, symptoms/diagnoses, staging indicators, and reasons for HAART discontinuation. Proportional hazards regression methods were used to identify predictors of discontinuation.', 'After a median follow-up of 8.1 months, 61% of patients changed or discontinued their initial HAART regimen; 24% did so because of an adverse event. The events most commonly cited as the cause for discontinuation were nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. A detectable viral load was associated with discontinuation at any time, while reporting nausea/vomiting or dizziness at the previous visit were associated with discontinuation during the first 3 months on HAART. Nausea/vomiting and not having AIDS at the time of HAART initiation were associated with discontinuation due to an adverse event at any time, while a high viral load, and dizziness or anorexia/weight loss at the previous visit were associated with discontinuation due to an adverse event in the first 3 months on HAART.'] Does patterns and correlate of discontinuation of the initial HAART regimen in an urban outpatient cohort?