March 7, 2013
Results of a meta-analysis suggest that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) appear to be at higher risk for dislocation following total hip arthroplasty than those with osteoarthritis who have these procedures (odds ratio, 2.16). Patients with RA also had a greater risk for infection following total knee arthroplasty.…
March 6, 2013
Children on antiretroviral therapy (ART) for more than two years who continued taking daily cotrimoxazole had significantly fewer hospitalizations for malaria as well as for non-malarial infections (notably pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis), compared with children who stopped this treatment, researchers from Uganda and Zimbabwe reported at the 20th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2013) in Atlanta this week.…
A new pro-drug formulation of the widely used nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor analog tenofovir (Viread, also in the Truvada, Atripla, Complera, and Stribild combination pills) worked as well as the existing formulation, but appears to have less potential for kidney and bone toxicity, according to a presentation Tuesday at the 20th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2013) in Atlanta.…
The Particulars: Identification of HIV infection before or during pregnancy allows for interventions that can reduce perinatal transmission risk to less than 1%. Prenatal HIV testing rates among commercially insured women with deliveries in 2009 to 2010 in the United States are unknown.…
The Particulars: Research indicates that HIV incidence is increasing among youth. Although public health initiatives have targeted youth engagement into care, CD4 counts of youth with behaviorally acquired HIV (BHIV) entering care are not well known.
Data Breakdown: An investigation of 1,727 patients aged 12 to 24 with BHIV presenting for care between 2002 and 2010 found that the proportion entering care with CD4 counts of <350 cells/mm3 remained at about 40% annually throughout the study period.…
The Particulars: Policies to improve the health of patients with HIV may be guided by nationally representative estimates of health insurance coverage and type, as well as a better understanding of the impact of insurance status on HIV clinical outcomes.
Data Breakdown: Data analyses found that among adults with HIV in care in the United States, those who were continuously insured were significantly more likely to achieve viral suppression (VS) than those with no or lapsed insurance (64% vs 51%).…
The Particulars: Previous research suggests that as many as 70% of patients with HIV smoke cigarettes, but no nationally representative prevalence estimates are available.
Data Breakdown: Using 2009 data from a nationally representative sample of 4,217 adults with HIV, researchers estimated the prevalence of cigarette smoking.…
The Particulars: Since 2006, the CDC has recommended routine opt-out HIV testing for early identification of infected people. Data are limited on the impact of this recommendation.
Data Breakdown: A survey of more than 50,000 patients between 2002 and 2010 found that HIV testing increased by 33% when comparing the pre- and post-recommendation periods.…
ATLANTA – All-oral regimens under investigation for hepatitis C virus (HCV) were able to cure up to 95% of patients who had never been treated for the virus, a researcher said here.
But in combined 48-week data from two small clinical trials, only 47% of people who had previously had unsuccessful HCV therapy were cured, according to Eric Lawitz, MD, of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.…
ATLANTA – A protease inhibitor being investigated in patients co-infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV yielded good early success when combined with pegylated interferon and ribavirin, a researcher said here.
In the so-called STARTVerso 4 trial, 80% of patients had undetectable HCV after 8 weeks of therapy with faldaprevir, according to Douglas Dieterich, MD, of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.…
