Title:Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on People Newly Diagnosed with HIV and those Already in -care in Türkiye
Volume: 22
Issue: 5
Author(s): Nazlı Arzu*, Atalay Sabri, Yalcın Nazlıhan, Helvacı Gamze, Altan Hividar and Gokengin Deniz
Affiliation:
- Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkiye
Keywords:
HIV care, COVID-19, people living with HIV, metabolic changes, healthcare system, antiretroviral treatment.
Abstract:
Background: COVID-19 has inevitably influenced health systems. HIV testing rates
have been reduced, and access to antiretroviral treatment has been scaled down. We evaluated the
impact of COVID-19 on the management of people living with HIV (PLWH) in Türkiye.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in three tertiary care hospitals. We compared the
baseline characteristics at the first visit and viral suppression rates at the 24th week of new HIV
diagnoses during the pandemic with those during the previous two years. To observe the effect
of the pandemic on people living with HIV who were already in care, we compared the metabolic
and clinical parameters like weight, blood pressure, blood lipid levels, fasting glucose levels, and
liver and renal function tests, of the same people before and during the pandemic.
Results: The first group included 380 cases (127 diagnosed during the pandemic and 253 diagnosed
during the previous year). The demographic characteristics were similar. The newly diagnosed
PLWH during the pandemic had significantly higher baseline HIV RNA levels (p=0.005),
a lower number of clinical visits (p=0.0005), and a lower number of cases with undetectable viral
loads at 24 weeks of treatment (p=0.0005) than those diagnosed during the pre-pandemic period.
The second group included 261 individuals with a mean follow-up duration of 24.7 (SD± 3.5;
min- max 12-144) months. The comparison of laboratory parameters revealed that in the postpandemic
period, virologic suppression was maintained at 90.1%, body mass index (p=0,0001),
total cholesterol (p=0,0001), and LDL levels (p=0,0001) increased significantly, and creatinine
levels decreased significantly (p=0,0001).
Conclusion: Our study showed that COVID-19 deteriorated the HIV management of PLHIV.
Strengthening the medical infrastructure of basic services for PLWH is critical for future crises.
