High rates of hypertension, diabetes, elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease risk factors in HIV-infected patients in Malawi.

Objectives: Data on cardiovascular disease risks among HIV-infected patients taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) over long periods of time are lacking in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Chiradzulu, Malawi from December 2015 to June 2016. HIV-infected persons on ART for more than 10 years (patients) and HIV-negative individuals (controls) from selected clinics participated.

Galactomannan in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid for diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis in non-hematological patients.

Background: The role of galactomannan (GM) in serum or bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) for the diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) has been extensively evaluated in hematological patients, however its performance in non-hematological patients is not well established.

Methods: We performed a multicenter retrospective study in 3 university hospitals in Madrid, Spain between 2010 and 2014. The study population comprised patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and patients with immunosuppressive conditions in whom IPA was suspected and for whom BALF GM was available.

Use of multiplex PCR in diagnosis of bloodstream infections in kidney patients.

The LightCycler® SeptiFast Test (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany) was prospectively compared with the standard blood culture technique in a series of 86 kidney patients. The sensitivity of the PCR compared with the culture was 71%, and the specificity was 88%. All the species identified by culture in these patients were in the SeptiFast panel.