Factors associated with oxidative stress in virologically suppressed people living with HIV on long-term antiretroviral therapy.

Background: Oxidative stress (OS) is the imbalance between oxidant and antioxidant molecules, in favour of oxidants, that has been associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality in ART-treated people living with HIV (PLWH). We aimed to assess factors associated with OS in virologically suppressed PLWH on long-term modern ART.

Method: In this cross-sectional study we evaluated OS by measuring both the levels of derivatives-reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs) and the biological antioxidant potential (BAP).

HIV and vicarious stigma in a cohort of people living with HIV in Italy: What happens when the stigma is fueled by healthcare providers?

Vicarious stigma shows how indirect stigmatizing experiences can lead people living with HIV (PLWH) to feel discriminated against. We enrolled 350 PLWH, who were administered a 17-item questionnaire to investigate a subjective experience of stigma experienced in the hospital care setting. We found that at least once 215 PLWH (61.

Differences in the Long-term Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health and Professional Quality of Life of Resident and Specialist Physicians.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic created an extremely difficult situation for healthcare workers (HCWs) worldwide. We aimed to compare the mental health and professional quality of life of residents and specialist physicians in a cohort of Italian HCWs caring for patients with COVID-19 about two years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: In November 2021, an online survey investigating the emotional states of depression, anxiety, stress, compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue was administered to HCWs (N= 78) at the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A.

Cardiovascular Disease Risk in a Cohort of Virologically Suppressed People Living with HIV Switching to Doravirine: Preliminary Data from the Real Life.

Aim of this study is to assess the impact of doravirine (DOR)-based regimens on cardiovascular risk in treatment-experienced people living with HIV (PLWHIV). We retrospectively analyzed a cohort of 40 treatment-experienced PLWHIV switching to a DOR-based three-drug regimen, evaluating 10-year risk of manifesting clinical cardiovascular diseases (CD) through the Framingham Risk Score at baseline, 12, and 24 weeks of follow-up. At baseline, median predicted 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease (10Y-CD) was 8.

Inflammation markers in virologically suppressed HIV-Infected patients after switching to dolutegravir plus lamivudine vs continuing triple therapy: 48-week results in real-life setting.

To evaluate the impact of a treatment switch to dolutegravir plus lamivudine on the soluble inflammatory biomarkers of HIV-infected patients treated in a real-life setting. This was a longitudinal study that enrolled virologically-suppressed patients on stable 3-drug ART who switched at baseline to dolutegravir + lamivudine (2DR-group), based on the clinician's decision, or maintained triple therapy (3DR-group). Subjects in the 3DR-group were matched with those in the 2DR-group for age, gender and type of anchor drug.

Difference in the neurocognitive functions of WLWH and MLWH in an Italian cohort of people living with HIV.

Based on the available literature, women living with HIV (WLWH) seem to show greater cognitive and emotional disadvantages than men living with HIV (MLWH). Our aim was to compare the cognitive performance of MLWH and WLWH in an Italian cohort of People Living With HIV (PLWH) and to analyse factors potentially contributing to sex differences in cognitive function. We ran a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of a monocentric dataset of PLWH who were administered a standardized neuropsychological test battery (SNB) during routine clinical care.

Are we ready for long-acting? A feasibility evaluation of long-acting cabotegravir-rilpivirine in clinical practice.

Cabotegravir and rilpivirine are the first drugs to be approved as injectable therapy to treat individuals with HIV. Despite encouraging results, the guidelines specify strict criteria for eligibility that could limit the feasibility of this strategy. We collected the clinical data of HIV-positive patients who were being treated at a single, third-level center in Italy.

Use of Long-Acting Therapies for HIV Care in Italy: Are People Living with HIV Prepared for Change? A Cross-Sectional Study.

Two hundred two people living with HIV (PLWH) selected from outpatients at the Infectious Disease Institute, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, in Rome (Italy) were consecutively enrolled from May to July 2021. We used an anonymous telephone questionnaire to investigate opinions of PLWH about combined antiretroviral (ARV) therapy and long-acting (LA) formulations of ARVs.

Use of telehealth for HIV care in Italy: Are doctors and patients on the same page? A cross-sectional study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed outpatient clinical practice, which has led to the need defining digital healthcare modalities to provide telehealth services. The aim of our study was to explore opinions about HIV management via telehealth in a representative, southern central Italian cohort of individuals with HIV (PLWH) and doctors involved in the treatment process.

Methods: We enrolled 80 PLWH who have never used telehealth tools and 60 doctors, who administered an anonymous self-report questionnaire to investigate their opinions about telehealth service use.

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in HIV-Infected Patients in Rome, Italy during the COVID-19 Outbreak.

Background: this study aimed to determine the proportion of people living with HIV (PLWH) with anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in a large sample from a single HIV referral center in Rome, Italy; the time-frame included both the first and the second wave of the Italian COVID-19 pandemic; Methods: we conducted a cross-sectional study on stored cryopreserved samples from 1 March 2020 to 30 November 2020. Total antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 were preliminarily tested using a chemiluminescent immunoassay. Positive results were re-tested with an ELISA assay as an IgG confirmatory test; Results: overall, 1389 samples were analyzed from 1106 PLWH: 69% males, median age 53 years, 94% on antiretroviral treatment, 93% with HIV-RNA < 50 copies/mL, median CD4 cell count 610 cell/µL.

Lopinavir/Ritonavir and Darunavir/Cobicistat in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: Findings From the Multicenter Italian CORIST Study.

Protease inhibitors have been considered as possible therapeutic agents for COVID-19 patients. To describe the association between lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) or darunavir/cobicistat (DRV/c) use and in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients. Multicenter observational study of COVID-19 patients admitted in 33 Italian hospitals.

Risk of Tumor Onset in HIV+ Patients on Two-Drug Regimens: A Cohort Study in an Italian Hospital.

Currently approved 2-drug therapies are as effective as 3-drug regimens but could potentially lead to increased cancer risk due to less efficient immune recovery. We conducted a longitudinal cohort study in a tertiary Italian hospital to investigate HIV+ patients starting a triple therapy (TT) (2 NRTIs +3rd agent) or a dual therapy (DT) (3TC/FTC+boosted-PI, boosted-DRV+RAL, and 3TC/FTC or RPV+DTG) regimen between 2009 and 2018. The effect of DT (vs.

The University of California San Diego performance-based skills assessment: a useful tool to detect mild everyday functioning difficulties in HIV-infected patients with very good immunological condition.

Everyday functioning (EF) impairment is frequent in people living with HIV (PLWH). Our aim was to better explore EF and its association with PLWH cognition, by administering both the IADL scale, the most common functional scale, and a new and ecologic multi-domain (communication and financial skills) tool to measure EF as the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Performance-Based Skills Assessment-Brief Version (UPSA-B). Eighty-five PLWH on cART with very good immunological condition and 23 age- and education-matched healthy controls (HC) were enrolled.

Efficacy and tolerability of lamivudine plus dolutegravir compared with lamivudine plus boosted PIs in HIV-1 positive individuals with virologic suppression: a retrospective study from the clinical practice.

Background: Direct comparisons between lamivudine plus bPIs and lamivudine plus dolutegravir as maintenance strategies in virologically-suppressed HIV positive patients are lacking.

Methods: Time to treatment discontinuation (TD) and virological failure (VF) were compared in a cohort of HIV+ patients on a virologically-effective ART starting lamivudine with either darunavir/r, atazanavir/r or dolutegravir. Changes in laboratory parameters were also evaluated.

Understanding cutaneous tuberculosis: two clinical cases.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an ancient human disease and remains today one of the most important public health problems and the second most frequent cause of death from an infectious disease worldwide. While pulmonary TB is the most common form, extra-pulmonary TB is on the rise due to the increase in immunosuppressed subjects. Cutaneous TB manifestations are rare forms of extra-pulmonary TB due to systemic dissemination of bacilli or direct inoculation, involving skin or skin-associated tissue, more common in immunocompromised subjects.

Cognitive reserve and neuropsychological functioning in older HIV-infected people.

Progress in treatments has led to HIV+ patients getting older. Age and HIV are risk factors for neurocognitive impairment (NCI). We explored the role of cognitive reserve (CR) on cognition in a group of virologically suppressed older HIV+ people.

The outcome of midwife-led labor in low-risk women within an obstetric referral unit.

Objective: To analyze maternal and neonatal outcomes of midwife-led labor in low-risk women at term.

Methods: Prospective observational cohort of 1788 singleton low-risk pregnancies in spontaneous term labor, managed according to a specific midwife-led labor protocol. Primary outcomes were mode of delivery, episiotomy, 3rd-4th degree lacerations, post-partum hemorrhage (PPH), need for blood transfusions, pH and Apgar score and NICU admissions.

Tubercular osteomyelitis of the second metatarsal: a case report.

A number of studies have described the osteoarticular involvement of tuberculosis, but very few cases of tubercular osteomyelitis of the foot have been reported. We describe a case of spina ventosa affecting the second metatarsal, with a review of the literature and description of the clinical manifestations, diagnostic images, and treatment of skeletal tuberculosis.