Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV care in Guatemala.
Int J Infect Dis
; 108: 422-427, 2021 Jul.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1364095
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
To describe the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and deaths from opportunistic infections in Guatemala.METHODS:
A retrospective study was conducted to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with HIV at a referral clinic (Clinica Familiar Luis Angel García, CFLAG), as well as the disruption of services at a diagnostic laboratory hub (DLH) which provides diagnosis for opportunistic infections to a network of 13 HIV healthcare facilities. Comparative analysis was undertaken using the months March-August from two different time periods (i) pre-COVID-19 (2017-2019); and (ii) during the COVID-19 period (2020).RESULTS:
During the COVID-19 period, 7360 HIV tests were performed at Clinica Familiar Luis Angel García, compared with an average of 16,218 tests in the pre-COVID-19 period; a reduction of 54.7% [95% confidence interval (CI) 53.8-55.4%],Deaths from opportunistic infections at 90 days were 10.7% higher in 2020 compared with 2019 (27.3% vs 16.6%; P = 0.05). Clinical samples sent to the DLH for diagnosis of opportunistic infections decreased by 43.7% in 2020 (95% CI 41.0-46.2%).CONCLUSION:
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a substantial impact on HIV care in Guatemala. Diagnostic services for HIV have been severely affected and deaths from opportunistic infections have increased. The lessons learnt must guide the introduction of strategies to reduce the impact of the pandemic.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
HIV Infections
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Central America
/
Guatemala
Language:
English
Journal:
Int J Infect Dis
Journal subject:
Communicable Diseases
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.ijid.2021.06.011
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