HIV prevalence higher among hospitalized COVID-19 patients
New data from a systematic review and meta-analysis indicated that the prevalence of HIV was higher among patients hospitalized for COVID-19 than in the general population.
“There are almost 40 million persons living with HIV across the globe and we thought it was imperative to estimate the burden of COVID-19 and its associated clinical outcomes in this population,” Emily S. Heilbrunn, BS, from the department of public health sciences at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pennsylvania, said during a virtual poster presentation at IDWeek.
In their review of the literature, Heilbrunn and colleagues found 14 studies that estimated the prevalence of HIV in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 or estimated the mortality rate of COVID-19 in persons living with HIV.
Results showed that the prevalence of HIV in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 was approximately 1.22%, which was twice as high compared with the approximate prevalence of 0.65% in the general population, according to Heilbrunn.
The researchers also analyzed the COVID-19 mortality rate in persons with HIV, which was approximately 14%.
“Our findings suggest that the prevalence of HIV in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 may appear higher than in the general population. This suggests a possible higher susceptibility in COVID-19 in this population. Therefore, further studies should be conducted as more research continues to be published,” Heilbrunn said. “Tailored interventions targeted at at-risk populations should be implemented to reduce associated morbidity and mortality.”
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Ssentogo P, et al. Poster 393. Presented at: IDWeek; Oct. 21-25, 2020 (virtual meeting).
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