Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jul 28;77(8):2265-2273.
doi: 10.1093/jac/dkac177.

Impact of tenofovir on SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes among people living with HIV: a propensity score-matched study

Collaborators, Affiliations

Impact of tenofovir on SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes among people living with HIV: a propensity score-matched study

Daniel K Nomah et al. J Antimicrob Chemother. .

Abstract

Background: Reports on the impact of some antiretrovirals against SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease severity are conflicting.

Objectives: We evaluated the effect of tenofovir as either tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine (TAF/FTC) or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC) against SARS-CoV-2 infection and associated clinical outcomes among people living with HIV (PLWH).

Methods: We conducted a propensity score-matched analysis in the prospective PISCIS cohort of PLWH (n = 14 978) in Catalonia, Spain. We used adjusted Cox regression models to assess the association between tenofovir and SARS-CoV-2 outcomes.

Results: After propensity score-matching, SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis rates were similar in TAF/FTC versus ABC/3TC recipients (11.6% versus 12.5%, P = 0.256); lower among TDF/FTC versus ABC/3TC recipients (9.6% versus 12.8%, P = 0.021); and lower among TDF/FTC versus TAF/FTC recipients (9.6% versus 12.1%, P = 0.012). In well-adjusted logistic regression models, TAF/FTC was no longer associated with reduced SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.90; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.78-1.04] or hospitalization (aOR 0.93; 95% CI, 0.60-1.43). When compared with ABC/3TC, TDF/FTC was not associated with reduced SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis (aOR 0.79; 95% CI, 0.60-1.04) or hospitalization (aOR 0.51; 95% CI, 0.15-1.70). TDF/FTC was not associated with reduced SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis (aOR 0.79; 95% CI, 0.60-1.04) or associated hospitalization (aOR 0.33; 95% CI, 0.10-1.07) compared with TAF/FTC.

Conclusions: TAF/FTC or TDF/FTC were not associated with reduced SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis rates or associated hospitalizations among PLWH. TDF/FTC users had baseline characteristics intrinsically associated with more benign SARS-CoV-2 infection outcomes. Tenofovir exposure should not modify any preventive or therapeutic SARS-CoV-2 infection management.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow diagram of people living with HIV in the PISCIS cohort in Catalonia showing the reception ART regimens and inclusion into the analysis. Abbreviations: PADRIS, Analytical Data for Research and Innovation in Health Project of Catalonia; ART, antiretroviral therapy; TAF, tenofovir alafenamide; TDF, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate; FTC, emtricitabine; ABC/3TC, abacavir/lamivudine.

References

    1. Sanders JM, Monogue ML, Jodlowski TZet al. Pharmacologic treatments for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a review. JAMA 2020; 323: 1824–36. - PubMed
    1. Riddell J, Amico KR, Mayer KH. HIV preexposure prophylaxis: a review. JAMA 2018; 319: 1261–8. - PubMed
    1. Zanella I, Zizioli D, Castelli Fet al. Tenofovir, another inexpensive, well-known and widely Available old drug repurposed for SARS-COV-2 infection. Pharmaceuticals 2021; 14: 454. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Elfiky AA. Ribavirin, remdesivir, sofosbuvir, galidesivir, and tenofovir against SARS-CoV-2 RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp): A molecular docking study. Life Sci 2020; 253: 117592. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chien M, Anderson TK, Jockusch Set al. Nucleotide Analogues as Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 Polymerase, a Key Drug Target for COVID-19. J Proteome Res 2020; 19: 4690–7. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types