Open AccessA Case Series of Five People Living with HIV Hospitalized with COVID-19 in Chicago, Illinois
Author(s) -
Jessica P Ridgway,
Brianna Farley,
Jean Luc Benoit,
Christopher C. Frohne,
Aniruddha Hazra,
Natasha N. Pettit,
Mai T. Pho,
Kenneth Pursell,
Jina Saltzman,
Jessica Schmitt,
A Ziggy Uvin,
David Pitrak,
Moira McNulty
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
aids patient care and stds
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.504
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1557-7449
pISSN - 1087-2914
DOI - 10.1089/apc.2020.0103
Subject(s) - medicine , hydroxychloroquine , covid-19 , azithromycin , demographics , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , comorbidity , pediatrics , family medicine , demography , disease , sociology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , antibiotics
The risk of COVID-19 among people living with HIV (PLWH) is largely unknown and there have been very few reported cases in the literature. We report a case series of five PLWH with COVID-19. We identified all patients with a diagnosis of HIV who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at University of Chicago Medicine between March 1, 2020, and April 7, 2020. We retrospectively collected data regarding demographics, comorbidities, medications, laboratory test results, radiology results, and outcomes associated with COVID-19. All five PLWH with COVID-19 were African American; 80% (4/5) were cisgender females. The mean age of patients was 48 years old (range 38-53). The majority of patients presented with cough, fever, and shortness of breath. Three patients had diarrhea. One patient presented with predominantly cardiac symptoms. All were taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) with CD4 count >200 cells/mm 3 and suppressed HIV viral loads at the time of COVID-19 diagnosis. All five patients were hospitalized, two required supplemental oxygen, and none required mechanical ventilation. Four patients were treated with azithromycin and a cephalosporin and two were also treated with hydroxychloroquine. The median length of stay was 3 days (range 2-7). All patients recovered. More research is needed to understand the risks of COVID-19 among PLWH and the impact of ART on outcomes for patients with COVID-19.