doi:10.1186/s12879-023-08967-6...
BioMed Central
Medicine & Public Health
2024
17.01.2024
Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted multiple health services, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing, care, and treatment services, jeopardizing the achievement of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS 90-90-90 global target.
While there are limited studies assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Latin America, there are none, to our knowledge, in Venezuela.
This study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among PLHIV seen at the outpatient clinic of a reference hospital in Venezuela.
Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study among PLHIV aged 18 years and over seen at the Infectious Diseases Department of the University Hospital of Caracas, Venezuela between March 2021 and February 2022.
Results A total of 238 PLHIV were included in the study.
The median age was 43 (IQR 31–55) years, and the majority were male (68.9%).
Most patients (88.2%, n = 210) came for routine check-ups, while 28 (11.3%) were newly diagnosed.
The majority of patients (96.1%) were on antiretroviral therapy (ART), but only 67.8% had a viral load test, with almost all (95.6%) being undetectable.
Among those who attended regular appointments, 11.9% reported missing at least one medical consultation, and 3.3% reported an interruption in their ART refill.
More than half of the patients (55.5%) had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while the rest expressed hesitancy to get vaccinated.
Most patients with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy were male (65.1%), younger than 44 years (57.5%), employed (47.2%), and had been diagnosed with HIV for less than one year (33%).
However, no statistically significant differences were found between vaccinated patients and those with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy.
Older age was a risk factor for missing consultations, while not having an alcoholic habit was identified as a protective factor against missing consultations.
Conclusion This study found that the COVID-19 pandemic had a limited impact on adherence to medical consultations and interruptions in ART among PLHIV seen at the University Hospital of Caracas, Venezuela.
Forero-Peña, David A.,Carrión-Nessi, Fhabián S.,Forero-Peña, José L.,Camejo-Ávila, Natasha A.,Mendoza-Millán, Daniela L.,Omaña-Ávila, Óscar D.,Maricuto, Andrea L.,Velásquez, Viledy L.,Mejía-Bernard, Mario D.,Rodriguez-Saavedra, Carlis M.,Marcano-Rojas, María V.,Contreras, Yoesmir,Guerra, Luis J.,Alvarado, María F.,Carballo, Martín,Caldera, Jocays,Guevara, Rafael N.,Redondo, María C.,Landaeta, María E., 2024, The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people living with HIV: a cross-sectional study in Caracas, Venezuela, BioMed Central