scholarly journals A Single Quantifiable Viral Load Is Predictive of Virological Failure in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-Infected Patients on Combination Antiretroviral Therapy: The Austrian HIV Cohort Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisela Leierer ◽  
Katharina Grabmeier-Pfistershammer ◽  
Andrea Steuer ◽  
Mario Sarcletti ◽  
Maria Geit ◽  
...  

Abstract Background.  Viral loads (VLs) detectable at low levels are not uncommon in patients on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). We investigated whether a single quantifiable VL predicted virological failure (VF). Methods.  We analyzed patients receiving standard regimens with at least 1 VL measurement below the limit of quantification (BLQ) in their treatment history. The first VL measurement after 6 months of unmodified cART served as baseline VL for the subsequent analyses of the time to reach single VL levels of ≥200, ≥400, and ≥1000 copies/mL. Roche TaqMan 2.0 was used to quantify human immunodeficiency virus-1 ribonucleic acid. Factors associated with VF were determined by Cox proportional hazards models. Results.  Of 1614 patients included in the study, 68, 44, and 34 experienced VF ≥200, ≥400, and ≥1000 copies/mL, respectively. In multivariable analyses, compared with patients who were BLQ, a detectable VL ≤ 50 and VL 51–199 copies/mL predicted VF ≥ 200 copies/mL (hazards ratio [HR] = 2.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06–4.55 and HR = 4.21, 95% CI = 2.15–8.22, respectively). In those with VL 51–199 copies/mL, a trend for an increased risk of VF ≥400 and VF ≥1000 copies/mL could be found (HR = 2.13, 95% CI = 0.84–5.39 and HR = 2.52, 95% CI = 0.96–6.60, respectively). Conclusions.  These findings support closer monitoring and adherence counseling for patients with a single measurement of quantifiable VL <200 copies/mL.

Author(s):  
Zied Gaifer ◽  
Mohamed-Rachid Boulassel

Background: The implication and clinical significance of low-level viremia (LLV) in HIV patients are still not clear. This study aimed to characterize the clinical outcomes and to evaluate whether LLV could predict future virological failure in a well-defined cohort of HIV-infected Omani patients attending a large HIV clinic. Methods: Patients on regular antiretroviral therapy (ART) for at least 12 months, and had at least 2 HIV RNA measurements 1 year after starting ART, were prospectively enrolled in a cohort study. LLV was defined as plasma HIV RNA between 50-200 copies/mL that persists after at least 2 consecutive measurements after 12 months of ART. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to measure the association among virological failure, LLV and potential predictors. Results: After 12 months of starting ART, 60 patients (40%) had undetectable viral load (UVL) < 50 copies/mL, while 37 patients (24%) had LLV and 53 patients (35%) had primary virological failure > 200 copies/mL. The incidence rates of subsequent secondary virological failure for UVL and LLV groups, were 3 and 7 cases per 1000 patient-months, respectively. Compared to UVL group, LLV group had increased risk of subsequent secondary virological failure with hazard ratio of (4.437 [95% CI, 1.26-15.55]; p = 0.02). Age, duration of HIV infection, pretreatment HIV RNA level, pretreatment CD4+ cell count, and ART adherent were associated with subsequent secondary virological failure. Conclusion: Collectively, Omani HIV patients with LLV were at a higher risk for HIV virological failure, and should be monitored closely. Further studies are need to assess whether ART modification in LLV patients would lower the risk of virological failure.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katelyn A Pastick ◽  
Ananta S Bangdiwala ◽  
Mahsa Abassi ◽  
Andrew G Flynn ◽  
Bozena M Morawski ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Seizures commonly occur in patients with cryptococcal meningitis, yet risk factors and outcomes related to seizures are not well described. Methods We performed post hoc analyses on participants prospectively enrolled in 3 separate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated cryptococcal meningitis clinical trials during 2010–2017. Documentation of seizures at presentation or during hospitalization and antiseizure medication receipt identified participants with seizures. We summarized participant characteristics by seizure status via Kruskal-Wallis and χ 2 tests. Cox proportional hazards models analyzed the relationship between seizures and mortality. We compared mean quantitative neurocognitive performance Z (QNPZ-8) scores, and individual domain z-scores, at 3-months using independent t tests. Results Among 821 HIV-infected cryptococcal meningitis participants, 28% (231 of 821) experienced seizures: 15.5% (127 of 821) experienced seizures at presentation, and 12.7% (104 of 821) experienced incident seizures. Participants with seizures at presentation had a significantly lower Glasgow coma scale ([GCS] &lt;15; P &lt; .001), CD4 count (&lt;50 cells/mcL; P = .02), and higher cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) opening pressure (&gt;25 cm H2O; P = .004) when compared with participants who never experienced seizures. Cerebrospinal fluid fungal burden was higher among those with seizures at presentation (125 000 Cryptococcus colony-forming units [CFU]/mL CSF) and with seizures during follow-up (92 000 CFU/mL) compared with those who never experienced seizures (36 000 CFU/mL, P &lt; .001). Seizures were associated with increased 10-week mortality (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.11–1.89). Participants with seizures had lower neurocognitive function at 3 months (QNPZ-8 = −1.87) compared with those without seizures (QNPZ-8 = −1.36; P &lt; .001). Conclusions Seizures were common in this HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis cohort and were associated with decreased survival and neurocognitive function.


Author(s):  
Ahmet Goktug Ertem ◽  
Mehmet Akif Erdol ◽  
Koray Demirtas ◽  
Sefa Unal ◽  
Mustafa Karanfil ◽  
...  

Dear Editor, We read the article entitled “Abnormal Dispersion of Ventricular Repolarization as a Risk Factor in Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus: Tp-e Interval, Tp-e/QTc Ratio” by Unal Evren et al. with interest[1]. The authors evaluated the changes in Tp-e interval, Tp-e/QT and Tp-e/corrected QT (QTc) ratios, and traditional electrocardiographic features of electrical dispersion in adults infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and their study revealed that the cTp-e interval, Tp-e/QT and Tp-e/QTc ratios were prolonged and correlated to the severity of the disease in HIV-infected patients. Previous studies have revealed that the Tp–e interval, the Tpeak-Tend interval (Tpe), the interval from the T-wave peak to the end of the T wave, has been related to arrhythmogenesis, is specified as an index of totaldispersion of repolarization[2]. Prolonged Tp–e interval is predictable for ventricular arrhythmias and mortality [3]. Unal et al. showed that HIV-infected patients receiving combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) were associated withlonger Tp–e interval and Tp–e/QTc ratio and correlated positively with the duration of disease and the electrophysiologicalabnormalities, and negatively with CD4 count[4]. There were no informations about medical status of patients with HIV, duration of the disease and why hsCRP is higher in patients’ group. The patients were in active phases of infection. We think that these are important datas for results of the study. We thank the authors for adding this article to the literature


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1177
Author(s):  
In Young Choi ◽  
Sohyun Chun ◽  
Dong Wook Shin ◽  
Kyungdo Han ◽  
Keun Hye Jeon ◽  
...  

Objective: To our knowledge, no studies have yet looked at how the risk of developing breast cancer (BC) varies with changes in metabolic syndrome (MetS) status. This study aimed to investigate the association between changes in MetS and subsequent BC occurrence. Research Design and Methods: We enrolled 930,055 postmenopausal women aged 40–74 years who participated in a biennial National Health Screening Program in 2009–2010 and 2011–2012. Participants were categorized into four groups according to change in MetS status during the two-year interval screening: sustained non-MetS, transition to MetS, transition to non-MetS, and sustained MetS. We calculated multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for BC incidence using the Cox proportional hazards models. Results: At baseline, MetS was associated with a significantly increased risk of BC (aHR 1.11, 95% CI 1.06–1.17) and so were all of its components. The risk of BC increased as the number of the components increased (aHR 1.46, 95% CI 1.26–1.61 for women with all five components). Compared to the sustained non-MetS group, the aHR (95% CI) for BC was 1.11 (1.04–1.19) in the transition to MetS group, 1.05 (0.96–1.14) in the transition to non-MetS group, and 1.18 (1.12–1.25) in the sustained MetS group. Conclusions: Significantly increased BC risk was observed in the sustained MetS and transition to MetS groups. These findings are clinically meaningful in that efforts to recover from MetS may lead to reduced risk of BC.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Sossa Jerome ◽  
Maurice Agonnoudé ◽  
Ghislain Emmanuel Sopoh ◽  
Ali Imorou Bah-Chabi ◽  
Amédée De Souza ◽  
...  

The benefits of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for treating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have been well described. The objective of this study was to identify the predictors of two-year survival in persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Benin. This retrospective transversal study included all patients from 46 HIV/AIDS therapy sites across Benin who started ART between July 1st, 2011 and June 30th, 2012. The independent variables were patients’ sociodemographic, clinical, biological and therapeutic characteristics and their ART regimen. The main dependent variable was the time of death. Data were collected from medical records, using documentary review. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to investigate factors associated with survival. Among the 771 PLWHA participants of the study, 18 (2.3%) died within the two-year period. The estimated mortality of the 771 PLWHA was 3% at 24 months. Among the sociodemographic, lifestyle and therapeutic characteristics studied, the main predictor of two-year mortality was poor adherence [odds ratio = 4.15, 95% confidence interval (1.55- 11.28)]. This study confirms that improving the survival of PLWHA receiving ART requires enhanced adherence.


Author(s):  
Ma Cherrysse Ulsa ◽  
Xi Zheng ◽  
Peng Li ◽  
Arlen Gaba ◽  
Patricia M Wong ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Delirium is a distressing neurocognitive disorder recently linked to sleep disturbances. However, the longitudinal relationship between sleep and delirium remains unclear. This study assessed the associations of poor sleep burden, and its trajectory, with delirium risk during hospitalization. Methods 321,818 participants from the UK Biobank (mean age 58±8y[SD]; range 37-74y) reported (2006-2010) sleep traits (sleep duration, excessive daytime sleepiness, insomnia-type complaints, napping, and chronotype–a closely-related circadian measure for sleep timing), aggregated into a sleep burden score (0-9). New-onset delirium (n=4,775) was obtained from hospitalization records during 12y median follow-up. 42,291 (mean age 64±8; range 44-83y) had repeat sleep assessment on average 8y after their first. Results In the baseline cohort, Cox proportional hazards models showed that moderate (aggregate scores=4-5) and severe (scores=6-9) poor sleep burden groups were 18% (hazard ratio 1.18 [95% confidence interval 1.08-1.28], p&lt;0.001) and 57% (1.57 [1.38-1.80], p&lt;0.001), more likely to develop delirium respectively. The latter risk magnitude is equivalent to two additional cardiovascular risks. These findings appeared robust when restricted to postoperative delirium and after exclusion of underlying dementia. Higher sleep burden was also associated with delirium in the follow-up cohort. Worsening sleep burden (score increase ≥2 vs. no change) further increased the risk for delirium (1.79 [1.23-2.62], p=0.002) independent of their baseline sleep score and time-lag. The risk was highest in those under 65y at baseline (p for interaction &lt;0.001). Conclusion Poor sleep burden and worsening trajectory were associated with increased risk for delirium; promotion of sleep health may be important for those at higher risk.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Augusto Di Castelnuovo ◽  
Simona Costanzo ◽  
Andrea Antinori ◽  
Nausicaa Berselli ◽  
Lorenzo Blandi ◽  
...  

Background: Protease inhibitors have been considered as possible therapeutic agents for COVID-19 patients.Objectives: To describe the association between lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) or darunavir/cobicistat (DRV/c) use and in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients.Study Design: Multicenter observational study of COVID-19 patients admitted in 33 Italian hospitals. Medications, preexisting conditions, clinical measures, and outcomes were extracted from medical records. Patients were retrospectively divided in three groups, according to use of LPV/r, DRV/c or none of them. Primary outcome in a time-to event analysis was death. We used Cox proportional-hazards models with inverse probability of treatment weighting by multinomial propensity scores.Results: Out of 3,451 patients, 33.3% LPV/r and 13.9% received DRV/c. Patients receiving LPV/r or DRV/c were more likely younger, men, had higher C-reactive protein levels while less likely had hypertension, cardiovascular, pulmonary or kidney disease. After adjustment for propensity scores, LPV/r use was not associated with mortality (HR = 0.94, 95% CI 0.78 to 1.13), whereas treatment with DRV/c was associated with a higher death risk (HR = 1.89, 1.53 to 2.34, E-value = 2.43). This increased risk was more marked in women, in elderly, in patients with higher severity of COVID-19 and in patients receiving other COVID-19 drugs.Conclusions: In a large cohort of Italian patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in a real-life setting, the use of LPV/r treatment did not change death rate, while DRV/c was associated with increased mortality. Within the limits of an observational study, these data do not support the use of LPV/r or DRV/c in COVID-19 patients.


Circulation ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 137 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika M Safford ◽  
Laura Pinheiro ◽  
Madeline Sterling ◽  
Joshua Richman ◽  
Paul Muntner ◽  
...  

Social determinants contribute to disparities in incident CHD but it is not known if they have an additive effect. We hypothesized that having more socially determined vulnerabilities to health disparities is associated with increased risk of incident CHD in the REGARDS study, a large biracial prospective cohort with physiological and survey measures. Experts adjudicated incident fatal and nonfatal CHD over 10 years of follow-up. Vulnerabilities included black race, low education, low income, and Southeastern US residence. The risks for CHD outcomes associated with 1, 2, and 3+ vs 0 vulnerabilities were calculated with Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for medical conditions, functional status, health behaviors, and physiologic variables. Of the 19,645 participants free of CHD at baseline (mean age 64 years, 57% women), 16% had 0 vulnerabilities, 36% had 1, 29% had 2, and 18% had 3+. Increasing numbers of vulnerabilities were associated with higher incidence (Figure) and risk of CHD that attenuated somewhat after multivariable adjustment (Table). These findings may provide a method of risk stratification useful for population health management.


Stroke ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam H de Havenon ◽  
Ka-Ho Wong ◽  
Eva Mistry ◽  
Mohammad Anadani ◽  
Shadi Yaghi ◽  
...  

Background: Increased blood pressure variability (BPV) has been associated with stroke risk, but never specifically in patients with diabetes. Methods: This is a secondary analysis of the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes Follow-On Study (ACCORDION), the long term follow-up extension of ACCORD. Visit-to-visit BPV was analyzed using all BP readings during the first 36 months. The primary outcome was incident ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke after 36 months. Differences in mean BPV was tested with Student’s t-test. We fit Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the adjusted risk of stroke across lowest vs. highest quintile of BPV and report hazard ratios along with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Our analysis included 9,241 patients, with a mean (SD) age of 62.7 (6.6) years and 61.7% were male. Mean (SD) follow-up was 5.7 (2.4) years and number of BP readings per patient was 12.0 (4.3). Systolic, but not diastolic, BPV was higher in patients who developed stroke (Table 1). The highest quintile of SBP SD was associated with increased risk of incident stroke, independent of mean blood pressure or other potential confounders. (Table 2, Figure 1). There was no interaction between SBP SD and treatment arm assignment, although the interaction for glucose approached significance (Table 2). Conclusion: Higher systolic BPV was associated with incident stroke in a large cohort of diabetic patients. Future trials of stroke prevention may benefit from interventions targeting BPV reduction.


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