Background: In 1997, 0.38% of dialysis patients in France were infected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). No prevalence data were available in France since the widespread introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional epidemiologic survey. A questionnaire was sent to all French dialysis centers in July 2002. The centers that did not respond were sent 3 additional mailing reminders. Finally, the nonresponding centers were called early in 2004.
Results: Of the 27,577 patients on hemodialysis and 587 patients on peritoneal dialysis, 190 patients (0.67%) were infected by HIV. HIV-associated nephropathy was the cause of renal failure in 39.8% patients. Mean age was 44.6 +/- 10.9 years, the mean duration of dialysis was 4.9 +/- 5.9 years, the mean known duration of HIV infection was 8.9 +/- 5.6 years. Eighty-two percent of patients received antiretroviral therapy (ART). Fifty-eight percent of ART-treated patients had an undetectable HIV plasma viral load with a median CD4+ T-cell count 303/mm(3).
Conclusion: The prevalence of HIV infection among French dialysis patients was 0.67% in late 2002, a 79% increase since 1997. Possible reasons for this large increase include increased access to dialysis, better general status of HIV dialysis patients, and increasing proportion of patients originating from Africa and the Caribbean. The current efficacy of ART makes renal transplantation a realistic option for these young patients.