Stroke in HIV-infected individuals with and without HCV coinfection in Spain in the combination antiretroviral therapy era

: The incidence of stroke in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals has been well analyzed in recent epidemiological studies. However, little is known about the specific contribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection to stroke among HIV-infected individuals. The aims of this study were to analyze trends in the incidence rates of stroke in HIV-infected individuals during the combination antiretroviral (cART) era in Spain and to categorize them by the presence or absence of HCV coinfection. We analyzed hospital discharges with a diagnosis of stroke in Spain according to ICD-9-CM during 1997-2013. The study period was divided into four calendar periods (1997-1999, 2000-2003, 2004-2007, and 2008-2013). Patients were classified according to HCV serology. The number of HIV-infected patients was estimated based on data from the National Centre of Epidemiology. We calculated incidence rates (events per 10,000 patient-years) and in-hospital case fatality rates (CFR). The incidence of hemorrhagic stroke (HS) decreased in HIV-monoinfected patients (15.8 [1997-1999] to 6.5 [2008-2013]; P<0.001) and increased in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients (1.3 [1997-1999] to 5.5 [2008-2013]; P<0.001). The incidence of ischemic stroke (IS) decreased in HIV-monoinfected patients (27.4 [1997-1999] to 21.7 [2008-2013]; P = 0.005) and increased in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients (1.8 [1997-1999] to 11.9 [2008-2013]; P<0.001). The CFR was 3.3 times higher for HS than for IS for the whole study period. The CFR of HS in HIV-monoinfected patients decreased significantly (47.4% [1997-1999] to 30.6% [2008-2013]; P = 0.010) but did not change significantly among HIV/HCV-coinfected patients (41.4% [1997-1999] to 44.7% [2008-2013]; P = 0.784). The CFR of IS in the whole HIV-infected population decreased significantly (14.6% [1997-1999] to 10.9% [2008-2013]; P = 0.034), although no significant differences were found when each group was analyzed separately. In conclusion, after the introduction of cART, HS and IS rates decreased in HIV-monoinfected individuals, but increased steadily in HIV/HCV-coinfected individuals.