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Observational Study
. 2021 Jan:102:310-315.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.10.060. Epub 2020 Oct 27.

COVID-19 in people living with HIV: A multicenter case-series study

Alfonso Cabello  1 , Belén Zamarro  2 , Sara Nistal  3 , Virginia Victor  4 , Jana Hernández  5 , Laura Prieto-Pérez  2 , Irene Carrillo  2 , Beatriz Álvarez  2 , Ricardo Fernández-Roblas  6 , Marta Hernández-Segurado  7 , Javier Becares  7 , José Miguel Benito  8 , Norma Rallón  8 , Raquel Téllez  9 , Ángel Luis Castaño  9 , Antonio Herrero  10 , Miguel Górgolas  2
Affiliations
Observational Study

COVID-19 in people living with HIV: A multicenter case-series study

Alfonso Cabello et al. Int J Infect Dis. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Objectives: Information on how COVID-19 affects people living with HIV (PLHIV) remains scarce.

Methods: An observational study was conducted in four public hospitals in Madrid. All HIV patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 were included and compared with COVID-19 patients without HIV infection.

Results: Sixty-three patients with HIV infection and confirmed or suspected COVID-19 were analyzed. The median age was 46 years (IQR: 37-56 years), and 88.9% were men. The median duration of HIV infection was 10.8 years (IQR: 6.5-16.8 years), and 96.8% were on antiretroviral therapy. 84.1% had previous comorbidities. The most common symptoms were fever (66.1%), cough (66.1%) and dyspnea (46.8%). Pneumonia was found in 47.5%, 28.6% of patients had severe disease, and 32.3% were admitted to hospital. The ICU admission rate and the mortality rate were both 3.17%. A significant association was observed between age, arterial hypertension, overweight, and diabetes mellitus and the severity of COVID-19. No association was observed between HIV-related factors and the severity of COVID-19. The rate of COVID-19 in HIV-patients was 1.68%. Similar hospitalization (31.74% vs 32.57%) and ICU admission (3.17% vs 2%) rates were observed with non-HIV infected patients. A lower mortality rate during hospitalization (10% vs 21.37%) and a lower global mortality rate (3.17% vs 6.96%) were also observed.

Conclusions: Established poor prognostic factors for COVID-19 patients, such as age and comorbidities, remain the main determinants for PLHIV. Neither the HIV severity nor the type of ARV treatment seem to influence the outcome of COVID-19. Large prospective cohorts are needed in order to establish the differences between HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients.

Keywords: COVID-19; HIV; SARS-CoV-2.

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Figure 1
Patients flow chart.
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References

    1. Statistics National Institute.
    1. Statistical institute of the Community of Madrid.
    1. Comunidad de Madrid. No Title.
    1. Blanco J.L., Ambrosioni J., Garcia F. COVID-19 in patients with HIV: clinical case series. Lancet HIV. 2020;7(5):e314–e316. doi: 10.1016/S2352-3018(20)30111-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Calza L., Bon I., Tadolini M. COVID-19 in patients with HIV-1 infection: a single-centre experience in northern Italy. Infection. 2020;(August) doi: 10.1007/s15010-020-01492-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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