Proteinuria in HIV-infected Indian Children

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among individuals with HIV infection. Screening for proteinuria in HIV-infected children will help in early detection and treatment, and thus prevention and progression to CKD to end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). We screened 139 HIV-infected children aged 18 months to 18 years for proteinuria by urinary dipstick and confirmed by spot urine protein-to-creatinine ratio. If proteinuria was absent by the above methods, patients were screened for microalbuminuria by urinary albumin to creatinine ratio. We found proteinuria in 11.5% and microalbuminuria in 10.6% of our study population. The prevalence of proteinuria was higher in the advanced stages; 8.05% in stage 1, 12.12% in stage 2 and 26.32% in stages 3 + 4.