Clinical Characteristics and Comparative Analysis of Covid-19 Patients With or Without HIV Coinfection in Wuhan, China

Background: COVID-19 is a public health emergency that is spreading worldwide and seriously affecting global economy. Information about the impact of HIV co-infection and anti-HIV drugs on the clinical characteristics and prognosis of COVID-19 patients remains limited. Methods: : In this retrospective study, the maximum body temperatures, fever duration, chest computed tomography changes and viral shedding, lymphocyte counts changes and titer of SARS-CoV-2 antibody were compared between COVID-19 patients with and without HIV infection in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from January 20th to February 14th, 2020. Results: : Compared with 50 control COVID-19 patients, the two COVID-19/HIV co-infection patients had higher maximum body temperatures(40.2℃ and 40.3℃ vs 38.2℃), longer fever duration(11 days and 15 days vs 7 days), longer time of lung recovery(20 days and 24 days vs 14 days), shorter duration of viral shedding after the onset of symptoms(6 days and 4 days vs 10 days). Compared with three COVID-19 infection colleagues who had exposure history with the same COVID-19 patient, the third COVID-19/HIV co-infection patient had the same duration of viral shedding after exposure(29 days vs 29 days), lower titer of SARS-CoV-2 IgG(negative vs positive for all). Conclusion: For patients co-infected with HIV, the clinical manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection were diverse. The ability of those COVID-19/HIV co-infection patients with severe immunodeficiency to produce SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were weakened. The small sample in this study implied that the effects of anti-HIV drugs in prevention and treatment of COVID-19 appears to be limited.