Diagnoses of children living with HIV before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: There is limited data on diagnoses during hospital stay among children living with HIV(CLHIV) in the antiretroviral and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) era.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe hospital diagnoses and clinical characteristics of CLHIV before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method: A retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study was performed. Clinical and laboratory data were retrieved by reviewing folders and discharge summaries from January 2019 to December 2021. Period A (pre-COVID-19) was defined as the period from January 2019 to March 2020. Period B (During COVID-19) was defined as being from April 2020 to December 2021.

Results: Ninety-six children contributed 215 diagnoses over the study period. The five most common diagnoses were unspecified HIV disease (47/215, 21.9%), tuberculosis (TB) (42/215, 19.5%), pneumonia (13/215, 6.0%), encephalopathy (11/215, 5.1%) and malnutrition (11/215, 5.1%). Median CD4 count was 377 cells/mm (IQR 126, 726) and 8.0% of the children were virally suppressed. Ninety-five per cent of the children had WHO Stage 3 and 4 (95%) disease and 12.5% of children required ICU admission. No child was diagnosed with COVID-19 despite universal screening. Moreover, 81.7% of the children had a social worker referral documented.

Conclusion: Advanced HIV disease (AHD) remains prevalent with TB being the most common diagnosis. There were no cases of COVID-19 recorded in CLHIV.

Contribution: The findings provide a description of the diagnoses of CLHIV in the South African setting prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights the need for more specific documentation of diagnoses to inform better prevention of AHD in children.