Chicago EDs see significant increase in acute HIV diagnoses during pandemic
Hospitals in Chicago experienced a significant increase in the detection of acute HIV infections during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to study results from IDWeek.
Researchers suggested that these patients maybe more likely to seek out care because of a fear of COVID-19.
“For patients who have HIV, if you develop symptoms or signs of COVID, you should get checked out,” David Pitrak, MD, chair of the section of infectious diseases and global health at University of Chicago Medicine, told Healio. “COVID is no more severe in patients with HIV, at least with the data we have today, but anyone can have a serious outcome.”
Pitrak, Kimberly Stanford, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, and colleagues analyzed data from the eXpanded HIV Testing and LTC Program, a joint screening program that was conducted across 13 centers in Chicago. The EDs incorporated blood draws for HIV screens as part of COVID-19 evaluations.
Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 17 this year, Chicago Medicine performed a total of 19,111 HIV screenings, 11,133 of which were performed in the ED. It also performed 100,635 PCR tests, 14,754 of which were in the ED.
A total of nine participants were diagnosed with acute HIV (AHI) following the first case of COVID-19 in Chicago, and an additional seven participants were diagnosed following the first community transmission case in Cook County, Illinois. The AHI rate was significantly higher in 2020 than in the previous 4 years (14.4 vs. 6.8; P < .05), with AHI patients making up 25.7% of all new diagnoses — the highest amount to date. All cases were confirmed via the ED.
“HIV services have really taken a hit in regard to both treatment and prevention,” Pitrak said. “It is entirely possible that there are just more transmissions occurring in the community at this time.”
Stanford said that the pandemic may offer a rare screening opportunity for HIV.
“We think the ED is a key place for HIV screening, both before the COVID pandemic and perhaps even more so during the pandemic,” Stanford said during a virtual presentation. “We have access to a very large population, many of whom don't access primary care or other outpatient treatments on a regular basis, and who are often an uninsured or underinsured population, and so this is often our one opportunity to reach people who otherwise don't have much contact with the medical system.”
Stanford also said that collaboration across specialties was valuable to the analysis.
“We were very fortunate to have wonderful partners in infectious disease at the University of Chicago,” Stanford said. “Because of that partnership, we've been able to increase our testing significantly by taking most of the work off of the ED.”
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Stanford K, et al. Late breaker LB-6. Presented at: IDWeek; Oct. 21-25, 2020 (virtual meeting).
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