COVID-19 Among People Living with HIV: A Systematic Review

This systematic review summarizes the evidence on the earliest patients with COVID-19-HIV co-infection. We searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, preprint databases, and Google Scholar from December 01, 2019, to June 1, 2020. From an initial 547 publications and 75 reports, 25 studies provided specific information on COVID-19 patients living with HIV. Studies described 252 patients, 80.9% were male, the mean age was 52.7 years, and 98% were on antiretroviral treatment (ART). Co-morbidities in addition to HIV and COVID-19 (multimorbidity) included hypertension (39.3%), obesity or hyperlipidemia (19.3%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (18.0%), and diabetes (17.2%). Two-thirds (66.5%) had mild to moderate symptoms, the most common being fever (74.0%) and cough (58.3%). Among patients who died, the majority (90.5%) were over 50 years old, male (85.7%), and had multimorbidity (64.3%). Our findings highlight the importance of identifying co-infections, addressing co-morbidities, and ensuring a secure supply of ART for PLHIV during the COVID-19 pandemic.