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Background: The global shift in healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic led to challenges in the care of people living with HIV., Methods: We conducted a retrospective study that aimed to delineate sociodemographic, clinical characteristics and outcomes, of people living with HIV diagnosed with ocular syphilis., Results: Fifty-three people living with HIV were identified with ocular syphilis. Thirty-eight (71.6%) presented ocular symptoms. Twenty-three (43.3%) underwent lumbar puncture, 5 (9.4%) were positive for neurosyphilis. Forty-seven (88.6%) received treatment, 32 (68%) received standard treatment with aqueous crystalline penicillin G, and 15 (31.9%) were treated with alternative regimens due to the impossibility of hospitalization. Six (11.3%) individuals were lost to follow-up and/or did not receive treatment. Eighteen (56.2%) out of 32 individuals in the aqueous crystalline penicillin G group experienced serological response, 5 (15.6%) experienced treatment failure, and 9 (28.1%) were lost to follow-up. In the alternative therapy group, 12 out of 15 individuals (80%) experienced serological response. One (6.7%) experienced treatment failure, and 2 (13.3%) were lost to follow-up., Conclusions: During the COVID-19 health emergency in Mexico, alternative treatments for ocular syphilis demonstrated favorable clinical outcomes amid challenges in accessing hospitalization.

Introduction: People living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) may suffer more severe symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) due to their immunocompromised status, even if they are undetectable. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has been reported as an independent factor associated with higher mortality in patients with COVID-19. The present study aims to describe the clinical characteristics of PLHIV and COVID-19 in one center in Mexico., Methodology: We conducted an observational retrospective monocentric cohort study of PLHIV diagnosed with COVID-19 between 1 March 2020 and 30 April 2021. SARS-CoV-2 was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of a nasopharyngeal swab sample, clinical features, and epidemiological characteristics., Results: We identified 55 PLHIV with COVID-19. The median age was 36 years (IQR 25-41.5 years), and 54 patients were men. The median duration of HIV-1 infection was 4.3 years (Interquartile range, IQR 2.6-7.2 years), and 100% were on antiretroviral therapy (ART). The last HIV-1 RNA viral load analysis of the patients was 52/55 (94.5%) indicating that they were in virological suppression. The median CD4+ T-cell count was 734/mm3 (IQR 541.5-921/mm3). The most frequent pre-existing comorbidities found were obesity (21.8%), hypertension (7.2%), and diabetes (5.4%). Only one death was reported (1.8%)., Conclusions: It has been reported that COVID-19/HIV/AIDS co-infection has a higher risk of mortality, admission to intensive care, and complications. However, our study found that people living with HIV-1 with adequate virological control did not present a severe course of COVID -19., Competing Interests: No Conflict of Interest is declared, (Copyright (c) 2022 Edgar Perez-Barragan, José Humberto Castillo-Flores, Jose Antonio Mata-Marin, Sara Gabriela Franco Lopez, Brian Alexis Morales Martinez, Samantha Perez Cavazos.)