Comparing 7-Day Versus 6-8-Day Penicillin Treatment Intervals Among Pregnant People With Syphilis of Late or Unknown Duration: No Difference Found in Incidence of Congenital Syphilis.

Background: Guidelines recommend that pregnant patients with syphilis of late/unknown duration be treated with benzathine penicillin G, dosed as 3 weekly intramuscular injections (BPGx3) given ideally at strict 7-day intervals. Given limited pharmacokinetic data, it is unknown whether more flexible BPG treatment intervals might be effective in preventing congenital syphilis (CS).

Methods: We used California surveillance data to identify birthing parent/infant dyads wherein the pregnant parent had syphilis of late/unknown duration between January 1, 2016 - June 30, 2019.

Influenza Vaccination Uptake and Associated Factors Among Adults With and Without Human Immunodeficiency Virus in a Large, Integrated Healthcare System.

Background: Influenza vaccination is recommended for adults regardless of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status. There may be facilitators or barriers to vaccinating people with HIV (PWH) that differ from people without HIV (PWoH). We sought to describe the uptake of influenza vaccination by HIV status and identify factors associated with vaccination.

Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation and Care Delivery for People With Newly Diagnosed HIV in an Integrated Healthcare System.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted health systems. For patients newly diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus, starting immediate antiretroviral therapy (ART) is recommended. For periods before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kaiser Permanente Northern California found similar rates of rapid ART initiation and time to viral suppression, concurrent with an increase in telemedicine.

Monocyte activation, HIV, and cognitive performance in East Africa.

Chronic inflammation associated with monocyte activation has been linked to HIV-related cognitive outcomes in resource-rich settings. Few studies have investigated this relationship in the African context where endemic non-HIV infections may modulate effects. We characterized immune activation biomarkers in Kenyan and Ugandan participants in relation to neuropsychological testing performance (NTP) from the African Cohort Study (AFRICOS).

Monocyte Activation Is Associated With Worse Cognitive Performance in HIV-Infected Women With Virologic Suppression.

Background:  Cognitive impairment persists despite suppression of plasma human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) RNA. Monocyte-related immune activation is a likely mechanism. We examined immune activation and cognition in a cohort of HIV-infected and uninfected women from the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS).

Plasma angiopoietin-2 predicts the onset of acute lung injury in critically ill patients.

Rationale: Current clinical prediction scores for acute lung injury (ALI) have limited positive predictive value. No studies have evaluated predictive plasma biomarkers in a broad population of critically ill patients or as an adjunct to clinical prediction scores.

Objectives: To determine whether plasma angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), von Willebrand factor (vWF), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and/or receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) predict ALI in critically ill patients.