Clinical outcome of kidney transplantation in HIV-infected recipients: a retrospective study

Kidney transplantation is a safe and effective option for HIV-positive (HIV⁺) patients. We conducted a retrospective study on HIV⁺ kidney transplant recipients who underwent transplantation from March 2008 to September 2016. Inclusion criteria for transplantation were CD4+ T-cell count ≥200 per mm³ and undetectable HIV load. The current study reports the outcome of 19 HIV⁺ recipients, mostly of Caucasian origin (79%) with a median age of 50 years (interquartile range [IQR], 42-52), who were followed up for a median period of 2.4 years (IQR, 1.2-4.6) after transplantation. Compared with HIV-negative (HIV^-) controls, HIV⁺ recipients had similar one- and three-year graft and patient survival, but significantly lower five-year patient survival (P = 0.03). The differences in graft outcome became less evident with the analysis of death-censored graft survival rates. Cumulative incidence of allograft rejection at one year was 32.9%. Rates of infections were not particularly elevated and HIV replication remained well controlled in all but one patient. A high prevalence of metabolic and endocrine complications (68%) was reported after transplantation. Further studies are needed to evaluate long-term outcomes of HIV⁺ recipients who underwent kidney transplantation.