Background: Understanding the attributes of COVID-19 clinical severity among people living with HIV (PLWH) compared with those in HIV-uninfected patients is critical for risk stratification and treatment strategies. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study at Kaiser Permanente Southern California among PLWH aged 18 years or older. We compared the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 molecular testing, COVID-19 diagnosis, and COVID-19 hospitalization among PLWH and HIV-uninfected adults. A chart review was conducted for PLWH with COVID-19 to examine viral suppression of HIV and most recent CD4+ counts in the year before COVID-19 diagnosis, known exposures to COVID-19, and clinical presentation. Results: Between March 1, 2020, and May 31, 2020, the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 molecular testing, COVID-19 diagnosis, and COVID-19 hospitalization was 551.2, 57.0, and 9.3 per 10,000 PLWH, respectively, compared with 268.4, 34.6, and 5.3 per 10,000 HIV-uninfected individuals, respectively. Among those with COVID-19, the distribution of race/ethnicity, smoking status, and comorbidities was similar in PLWH and HIV-uninfected patients;however, PLWH were mostly men, younger, and less obese than HIV-uninfected individuals. Health care utilization regarding emergency care and hospitalizations in the year before COVID-19-related hospitalization was similar between the groups. Overall, HIV was virologically suppressed in .95% of PLWH with COVID-19, and HIV viral load and CD4+ status did not differ between hospitalized and nonhospitalized patients. Conclusions: In this population of patients with well-controlled HIV infection, the incidence of testing, diagnosis, and hospitalization for COVID-19 was higher in PLWH than that in HIVuninfected patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of JAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes is the property of Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
