Brief communication: COVID-19 in patients with HIV-a prospective, single-centre cohort study in Slovakia.

Abstract

Background: Evidence on COVID-19 among people living with HIV (PLWH) remains mixed and context-dependent.

Methods: We prospectively followed 64 PLWH receiving antiretroviral therapy at a tertiary university hospital in Martin, Slovakia (September 2020-September 2021). SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed by RT-PCR.

Result: COVID-19 was diagnosed in 54 of 64 participants (84.4%) and was generally mild; none required intensive care, and no deaths were reported. There were no statistically significant differences between PLWH who did and did not develop COVID-19 with respect to age, duration of HIV infection, CD4 cell count, or viral suppression. Participants who developed COVID-19 were more likely to have at least one documented comorbidity; however, this did not appear to translate into severe outcomes in this small cohort. Among those with COVID-19, exploratory comparisons showed no clear differences in short-term outcomes according to mRNA vaccination status.

Conclusions: In this small exploratory cohort of ART-treated individuals in Slovakia, we did not identify clear clinical or HIV-related predictors of COVID-19 outcomes; however, the study was underpowered and the findings should be interpreted cautiously.