Causes of hospitalisation among people living with HIV worldwide, 2014-23: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Despite improved access to antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV-related morbidity and mortality remain high. A previous review (2007-14) found that AIDS-related illnesses were the leading causes of hospitalisations. We aimed to summarise the causes of hospitalisations among people living with HIV from 2014 to 2023.

Methods: For this meta-analysis we searched eight databases (Ovid Medline ALL, Ovid Embase Classic and Ovid Embase, Ovid Global Health, EBSCOhost CINAHL Complete, EBSCOhost Africa-Wide Information, Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Core Content, Clarivate Analytics Web of Science SciELO, and Global Index Medicus) on April 26, 2023. We included studies of any design that reported on the cause of admission to hospital for at least 20 people after Jan 1, 2014. We extracted summary-level data about CD4 cell counts, ART use, cause of admission, and incidence of death, and assessed risk of bias with the use of a modified Newcastle-Ottowa Scale. We constructed random effects models to estimate prevalence of various diseases as a cause of hospital admission.

Findings: From the 19 629 records identified, we obtained data from 110 studies representing 100 628 hospital admissions. The weighted median CD4 count was 111 cells per μL (range of medians 25-713); 60% of admissions (95% Cl 54-66) were people receiving ART. The most common cause of admission was AIDS-related illnesses (42% of admissions, 95% CI 35-49), including tuberculosis (19%, 15-23). The second most common cause was bacterial infection (26%, 20-33). AIDS-related illnesses were more common in WHO regions of South and Central America (62%, 53-71), Africa (49%, 39-60), Western Pacific (68%, 57-77), and South-East Asia (40%, 31-50) than in Europe (30%, 23-37) and North America (13%, 6-25). Wasting and parasitic infections were more common in children (malnutrition 31%, 11-63; parasitic infection 13%, 4-37) than in adults. In-hospital mortality was 17% (13-20), with substantial regional variation.

Interpretation: Our results indicate providing high-quality care to hospitalised people with HIV-related conditions (AIDS-related illness and severe bacterial infections) should be prioritised.

• Population(s)
  • General HIV+ population
• Prevention, Engagement and Care Cascade
  • Engagement and Care Cascade
• Engagement and Care Cascade
  • Treatment
• Mental Health
  • Psychiatric disorders
• Co-infections
  • Tuberculosis
  • Other
• Co-morbidities
  • Cardiovascular
  • Cancer
  • Other