[Viva] Fwd: Case series of HIV and COVID-19 in Spain

Denise Wozniak deniseswozniak at gmail.com
Tue Apr 21 07:59:04 PDT 2020 

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From: CATIE News <mailer at catie.ca>
Date: Tue, 21 Apr 2020, 7:44 am
Subject: Case series of HIV and COVID-19 in Spain
To: <deniseswozniak at gmail.com>


Barcelona doctors reported on the cases of five HIV-positive patients with
COVID-19
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Case series of HIV and COVID-19 in Spain

   - *Barcelona doctors reported on the cases of five HIV-positive patients
   with COVID-19*
   - *These patients represented 1% of all hospital patients diagnosed with
   the coronavirus*
   - *Four of the patients have recovered, and their cases may offer
   guidance to clinicians*

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Doctors at the University of Barcelona, Spain, have published a detailed
report on five people with HIV who were co-infected with SARS-CoV-2, the
virus that causes coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). All were under the
age of 50 and four out of the five people had recovered from COVID-19 at
the time of publication. The report from Barcelona is a small case series
and no firm conclusions can be drawn about the effectiveness of the
potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 treatments.
Case details

The doctors stated that by March 9, 2020, the University’s hospital clinic
had admitted 543 people who were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Five
of these people (about 1%) were HIV positive—three were men who had sex
with men (MSM) and two were transgender. The five people sought care
because they had fever and cough and, in some cases, other symptoms (such
as lack of energy, shortness of breath and headache). Underlying health
conditions were only noted for two people—one man had lower-than-normal
levels of thyroid hormones in the blood (hypothyroidism) and another man
had asthma.

All of the people with COVID-19 underwent a chest X-ray. In two people with
mild COVID-19, the X-ray images were clear. In the remaining three people,
the X-ray images were suggestive of an infection or pneumonia. In these
three people COVID-19 was assessed as severe (two people) or moderate (one
person).

Four of the five people were taking HIV treatment prior to their admission
to hospital. Their CD4+ cell counts were greater than 400 cells/mm3 and
their viral loads were undetectable (less than 50 copies/mL). The fifth
person was diagnosed with HIV while hospitalized, with a CD4+ count of 13
cells/mm3 and a viral load of 45,500 copies/mL.

The HIV treatments (ART) taken prior to hospitalization were as follows:

   - darunavir + cobicistat + TAF + FTC – two people
   - dolutegravir + abacavir + 3TC – two people

Revisiting Kaletra

There is no treatment or combination of treatments that is approved in
Canada or other high-income countries for SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, in
the current emergency situation, doctors caring for people with COVID-19
may choose to prescribe an unusual combination of drugs in the hope of
keeping people alive, particularly those with severe symptoms.

In theory, an older class of HIV drugs called protease inhibitors might
inhibit an enzyme used by SARS-CoV-2. One HIV protease inhibitor is called
lopinavir. It is available in a fixed-dose formulation with a small dose of
another drug called ritonavir. The purpose of ritonavir is to raise or
boost levels of lopinavir so that twice- or once-daily dosing is possible.
This small dose of ritonavir has no antiviral activity. Lopinavir-ritonavir
is sold under the brand name Kaletra and is available in generic
formulations. Kaletra was once widely used as part of HIV combination
therapy in Canada and other high-income countries. However, over the past
15 years it has been replaced by more potent and better-tolerated medicines.

A clinical trial of Kaletra recently found that it did not have significant
clinical benefit in people with severe symptoms of COVID-19. However, other
clinical trials of Kaletra in COVID-19 are underway.

Another HIV protease inhibitor, darunavir, was reputed to have
anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity, but the manufacturer, Janssen, performed lab
experiments with cells and this virus and found that darunavir did not have
significant effects.
Some changes to regimens

The person with moderate COVID-19 symptoms was kept on their pre-hospital
darunavir-based regimen and did not receive additional interventions (see
below). Another person who was diagnosed with HIV in the hospital had
severely depleted CD4+ cell counts and was given darunavir-based ART, as
they had developed life-threatening pneumonia that is the hallmark of AIDS
(pneumocystis pneumonia, or PCP). For the remaining three people, doctors
explained that they were going to change their HIV regimens to one based on
Kaletra because, they said, it “might” have antiviral activity against
SARS-CoV-2. Once people recovered from COVID-19 doctors would reinstitute
their previous HIV treatments. Doctors instituted the following new regimen
designed for COVID-19 and HIV:

   - Kaletra + Truvada

Truvada was added to help maintain HIV suppression.
Additional interventions

As part of an anti-SARS-CoV-2 regimen, some people received additional
treatments:

   - Two people received interferon beta-1b, at a dose of 8 million units
   every 48 hours via injection for several days.
   - Four people received hydroxychloroquine, at a dose of 400 mg twice
   daily on the first day and then 200 mg twice daily for four days.
   - Three people received the antibiotic azithromycin, at a dose of 500 mg
   on the first day followed by 250 mg per day for four consecutive days.

None of these interventions have been proven effective against SARS-CoV-2,
but they appear promising in lab experiments with cells and the virus and
in small studies with people. These drugs are in clinical trials and/or
were widely used by doctors in China in the early part of the pandemic.

The person with PCP received additional antibiotics for this
pneumonia—trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for 21 days.

One of the people with severe COVID-19 was given the powerful
anti-inflammatory drug tocilizumab, a one-time injection of 400 mg. This
drug is used for the treatment of arthritis and suppresses a chemical
signal called IL-6 (interleukin-6) that incites inflammation. Some
scientists suspect that the severe lung injury associated with some cases
of COVID-19 may be caused in part by the immune system releasing
inflammatory chemical signals.
Results

Four people were subsequently assessed as cured from SARS-CoV-2 and
discharged from the hospital.

However, one person who was on HIV treatment prior to hospitalization has
remained hospitalized and is in intensive care. His lungs are severely
injured and do not work properly. As a result, doctors have had to pass his
blood through an external apparatus that enriches it with oxygen and
removes carbon dioxide. The blood is then returned to his circulation. This
process of external oxygenation is called ECMO (extracorporeal membrane
oxygenation). ECMO has been used around the world in cases of severe lung
injury arising from COVID-19.
Bear in mind

The Barcelona doctors made the following points about the five people under
their care:

   - HIV-positive people have so far accounted for about 1% of people
   hospitalized with COVID-19 in their hospital.
   - They were all under the age of 50.
   - As most of the people in this case series were transgender or MSM, the
   doctors called for research with other populations who have HIV and who
   develop COVID-19, such as older MSM, substance users, women and
   heterosexual men.
   - The doctors noted that two people in the case series “were sex
   workers, one reported participating in a chemsex party six days prior to
   admission to hospital. During this pandemic, implementing health education
   programmes is very important to [help] explain that such activities as
   these could cause clusters of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.”
   - It is possible that some people with previously undiagnosed HIV
   infection will develop COVID-19 and AIDS-related pneumonia in the future.
   The Barcelona doctors encourage other clinicians to be vigilant for such a
   situation.

*–Sean R. Hosein*

*Resources*

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), HIV and hepatitis C: What you need to know
<https://catie.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=89abcbccf295c7b8d9a92cf09&id=cab3ea3d38&e=14dd36bd6f>
 – *CATIE News*

Kaletra disappointing in people severely ill with COVID-19
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 – *CATIE News*

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Outbreak update
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–
Public Health Agency of Canada

COVID-19 resources
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Having sex and staying safe during the COVID-19 pandemic
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– Health Initiative for Men

Coronavirus COVID-19
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* – *Terrence Higgins Trust

COVID-19: What people with HIV should know
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* – *US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Interim guidance for COVID-19 and persons with HIV
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* – *US Department of Health and Human Services

REFERENCE:

Blanco JL, Ambrosioni J, Garcia F, et al. COVID-19 in patients with HIV:
Clinical case series. *Lancet HIV*. 2020; *in press*.
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