Features of the diagnosis and course of COVID-19 in HIV-infected patients hospitalized in a hospital

The global pandemic of coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has set complex diagnostic tasks for doctors of polyclinics and hospitals. Considering the simultaneous pandemic spread of two infectious diseases – COVID-19 and HIV infection, the problem of studying the clinical features of combined COVID-19/HIV infection becomes urgent. The aim of the study was to determine the features of the diagnosis and course of COVID-19 against the background of HIV infection in patients undergoing inpatient treatment. Material and methods. The study was conducted on the basis of the temporary Clinical Medical Center COVID-19 of the A.I. Yevdokimov Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation in Moscow from October 2020 to January 2022. The study included 31 233 patients with COVID-19 complicated by pneumonia. To analyze the features of the course of combined COVID-19/HIV infection, a group of 51 HIV-infected patients was identified. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was determined based on the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA by PCR in nasal/oropharyngeal smears and/or according to computed tomography of the lungs (CT). During the study, age, gender, anamnesis, objective examination data were analyzed, taking into account the results of CT scans of the chest organs, data from routine laboratory blood tests, oxygen support regimens, treatment outcomes and duration of detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. All patients were treated according to the Temporary Clinical Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of COVID-19, 14 version dated 12/27/2021. Results. The number of patients with combined HIV infection and SARS-CoV-2 out of the total number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients (n=31 233) was 0.16%. Upon admission, 30 (59%) patients reported having HIV infection and receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). HIV infection was first diagnosed in 21 patients at 2–3 weeks of inpatient treatment. The average age of patients with SARS-Cov-2/HIV co-infection was 1.5 times less than in patients without HIV (41.1±5.3 and 64.4±10.1, respectively) (p≤0.05). Concomitant pathology (hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease and chronic lung diseases) was less common (51%) in the group of combined infection than in the group without HIV (83%). However, in 41% of patients with coinfection, chronic viral hepatitis B, C was detected, in contrast to 0.3% of cases of COVID-19 patients without HIV. 26 (51%) patients were discharged with improvement, while the average bed-day did not differ from patients without HIV infection (13.4±4.5 days and 11.7±5.2, respectively) (p≥0.05). 7 (24%) patients at the time of discharge (16.8±4.2 days) with clinical and laboratory improvement maintained a positive result of PCR RNA on SARS-Cov-2. In 22 (43%) patients with coinfection, hospitalization was fatal for 3 to 21 days of treatment, with ARDS with respiratory and multiple organ failure, which is 3.6 times higher than in patients without HIV infection. The analysis showed that, regardless of the result of PCR on SARS-CoV-2 RNA, in non-specialized hospitals, HIV testing is indicated for young patients with fever for more than 14 days, with lung damage in the form of bilateral interstitial changes according to CT, a history of chronic hepatitis C, B, with progressive severity of the condition on against the background of COVID-19 therapy. Early consultation of an infectious disease specialist, examination of sputum/lavage by PCR for pathogens of opportunistic infections and the appointment of ART and drugs for the treatment of opportunistic diseases will improve the quality of medical care for patients in a non-core HIV hospital will improve the prognosis of COVID-19. © Eco-Vector, 2022.