Assessment of the medical care of HIV-infected patients in a voluntary and anonymous screening center in Senegal

The purpose of this study was to conduct a cohort analysis six years after the introduction of medical care for HIV-infected patients in the first voluntary and anonymous screening center in Senegal. This paper provides a retrospective descriptive study of the medical records of HIV-infected patients followed between 2004 and 2009. The center provided care to 389 patients over the course of the six-year period. The median age of patients was 36 years [17- 69years], with a sex-ratio (F/M) of 2.5. Access to care was mainly by voluntary screening (313 cases). Two thirds (65%) of patients were either asymptomatic or pauci-symptomatic (WHO Stage l/ll). Prurigo (20%) and sexually transmitted infections (19%) were the main diseases diagnosed among patients. 66.6% of patients had a CD4+ cell count ≥ 200/mm3. By the end of 2009, two hundred and thirty-five patients were still being followed. The rate of patients lost to follow-up was 29%, while the lethality rate was 6%. The assessment of the activities of the voluntary, anonymous and free screening center shows the importance of screening centers in the fight to promote knowledge about HIV infection.