950 - Venous Thromboembolism in Persons Living with HIV (PLWH): A Single Center Retrospective Cohort Study

Background: Data on risk of thromboembolism in PLWH is limited. HIV is often recognized as a chronic inflammatory disease and has been recognized as a prothrombotic condition. We aimed to analyze the incidence and demographic of venous thromboembolism such as pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis in PLWH admitted to our hospital.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective hospital cohort study on PLWH ≥ 18 years old who were admitted to our hospital between 09/01/2018 and 09/01/2019. Study individuals were recruited if they had complete laboratory profile and well-defined clinical outcomes. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were reviewed and retrieved. Descriptive analysis was employed to describe the demographic profile of PLWH with venous thromboembolism.

Results: Out of the 192 hospitalized PLWH during the study period, 15 (8%) patients had documented deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and/or pulmonary embolism (PE). History of DVT/PE was present in 5 (33%) patients while the rest had new onset of DVT/PE. Out of the 15 patients, 4 (27%) had DVT and PE, 4 (27%) had only DVT and 7 (46%) had only PE. The median age was 57 years, ranged from 40 to 74 years; 4 males and 11 females. As for ethnicities, 2 Caucasian, 12 were African American and 1 Hispanic.
The average D-dimer was 4491. The median CD4 count for PLWH with venous thromboembolism was 487 and a median viral load of 900. In contrary, the median CD4 count of PLWH without venous thromboembolism was 420 and median viral load of 140. Though not statistically significance, higher viral load seems to associate with risk of venous thromboembolism. Surprisingly, female gender is an independent risk factor for venous thromboembolism in PLWH (z-score 2.75, p=0.0059; odds ratio [OR], 4.67; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.56-13.69).

Conclusion: Our observation of PLWH with venous thromboembolism suggest that this population has an increased risk of venous thromboembolism as compared to general population. Female gender is an independent risk factor for venous thromboembolism in PLWH and higher HIV viral load seems to associate with higher risk. Larger prospective studies in this population are needed to dissect the interplay between HIV and venous thromboembolism.