Blödarsjuka med HIV. Långsammare infektionsförlopp hos yngre och vid större förbrukning av faktorkoncentrat

HIV disease progression and the effect of replacement therapy with clotting factor concentrates (CFCs) were studied in 100 Swedish haemophiliacs, mean age at seroconversion 29 years (range, 4-72). On average 16 years after seroconversion, 67 per cent of the patients had CD4+ cell counts of < 200 x 10(6)/l, 50 per cent had developed AIDS, and 58 per cent had died. HIV disease progression was significantly slower in those aged less than 28 (median age) at seroconversion (P = 0.004). Moreover, mortality was inversely correlated to total annual CFC consumption after adjustment for age and HIV-related therapy, i.e., Pneumocystis carinii prophylaxis and antiretroviral drugs (P = 0.014), but unrelated to the purity of the CFCs used. After adjustment for age, annual CFC consumption and HIV-therapy, prophylactic replacement therapy was not associated with significantly better survival than on-demand treatment. It is concluded that in HIV-positive haemophiliacs replacement therapy may have a beneficial effect on the immune system, and that CFC purity and the regimen (prophylaxis vs on-demand) would seem to be factors of minor importance.