OBJECTIVE: Over 480 000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in the Czech Republic since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including over 500 people with HIV. This study describes the demographics, characteristics, and management of Ukrainian refugees with HIV in the Czech Republic. DESIGN: Retrospective, observational, noninterventional study. METHODS: Ukrainian nationals registering at HIV centers in the Czech Republic with war refugee status were included. Data were collected from medical records between 1 March and 31 July 2022. The study was registered with the Czech State Institute for Drug Control, ID number 2301200000. RESULTS: Four hundred and eighty-two patients were included in the study. Most patients were female (69.5%; n = 335/482) with well-controlled HIV. The median [interquartile range] CD4 + cell count was 597 [397] cells/μl of blood, and 79.3% ( n = 361/455) of patients had HIV RNA <40 copies/ml. Coinfections of hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus, and/or tuberculosis were reported for 17.4% ( n = 78/449), 9% ( n = 40/446) and 1.3% ( n = 6/446) of patients, respectively. In Ukraine, 85.7% ( n = 384/448) of patients had been receiving an integrase strand transfer inhibitor-based regimen and most (69.7%; n = 310/445) did not switch therapy upon arrival in the Czech Republic. CONCLUSION: Migration from Ukraine is changing the characteristics of HIV epidemiology in the Czech Republic. Ukrainian refugees with HIV have been provided with a high standard of medical care in the Czech Republic. Improved coordination between medical services within the Czech Republic and between countries in the European Union is necessary to optimize patient care.

1st Faculty of Medicine Charles University Prague

3rd Faculty of Medicine Charles University

České Budějovice Hospital České Budějovice

Department of Infectious Diseases 1st Faculty of Medicine Charles University and Military University Hospital Prague Prague

Department of Infectious Diseases Faculty Hospital Brno

Department of Infectious Diseases Faculty Hospital Bulovka

Department of Infectious Diseases University Hospital Hradec Králové Hradec Králové

Department of Infectious Diseases University Hospital Ostrava Ostrava

Department of Infectology and Geographical Medicine Center for Treatment of HIV AIDS Patients Academic L Derer's University Hospital Bratislava Slovakia

Faculty of Health and Social Sciences University of South Bohemia České Budějovice Czech Republic

Faculty of Medicine Charles University

Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University Brno

Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University Brno Brno Czech Republic

Faculty of Medicine University of Ostrava

Gilead Sciences

Masaryk Hospital Ústí nad Labem

Public Health Centre Ministry of Health Kiev Ukraine

Royal Liverpool University Hospital Liverpool UK

University Hospital Plzeň Plzeň

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Late diagnosis of HIV among Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic: A retrospective, observational study

Provision of care for people with HIV migrating from Ukraine: preparing for a long-term response