Clinical features and outcome of COVID-19 among PLHIV in Gujarat, India: A case series.

Abstract

Information on people living with HIV (PLHIV) and current COVID-19 pandemic is still scarce in Indian setting. This case series of PLHIV with COVID-19 describes clinical characteristics and outcome in this special group of patients. This case series included 11 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among PLHIV admitted at a tertiary care hospital in Gujarat, India during April–December 2020. This retrospective study was conducted by doing secondary data analysis from case records of patients for various variables including demographic, clinical characteristics, HIV-related parameters, and outcome (discharged/death). The mean age of patients was 39.2 years ranging from 20 to 55 years. Nearly, 18% (2/11) of patients had major comorbidities like diabetes and hypertension. All were taking antiretroviral therapy drugs with >95% drug adherence and had CD4 count ranging from 79/cu.mm. to 1189/cu.mm. Majority (91%) of patients recovered and were discharged while only one patient (9%) died during course of COVID-19 treatment. COVID-19 showed a similar clinical and epidemiological profile among PLHIV like other group of people. Further studies with large-sample size are recommended to find risks of COVID-19 among PLHIV and its impact on treatment outcomes.