Preconception use of cART by HIV-positive pregnant women increases the risk of infants being born small for gestational age.

Background: The benefits of combination anti-retroviral therapy (cART) in HIV-positive pregnant women (improved maternal health and prevention of mother to child transmission [pMTCT]) currently outweigh the adverse effects due to cART. As the variety of cART increases, however, the question arises as to which type of cART is safest for pregnant women and women of childbearing age. We studied the effect of timing and exposure to different classes of cART on adverse birth outcomes in a large HIV cohort in the Netherlands.

[Late diagnosis of HIV positive patients in Rotterdam, the Netherlands: risk factors and missed opportunities].

Objective: To determine the percentage of patients in whom the diagnosis 'HIV infection' was made late, which factors are associated with an increased risk of a late HIV diagnosis, and if there are opportunities for an earlier diagnosis.

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Method: We included all HIV positive patients who were treated at the Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam in the period January 1996-March 2012.

Current and future applications of dried blood spots in viral disease management.

Almost five decades after their first application in diagnostics, dried blood spot (DBS) cards remain to be of key interest in many research areas and clinical applications. The advantages of sample stability during transport and storage, can now be combined with the high sensitivity of novel diagnostic techniques for the measurement and analysis of nucleic acids, proteins and small molecules which may overcome the limitations of the small samples sizes in DBS cards. Here we present a survey of the literature on the use of DBS cards for diagnosis, monitoring and epidemiological studies of virus infections other than HIV, including CMV, HBV, HCV, HAV, HEV, HTLV, EBV, HSV, measles-, rubella- and dengue-virus.

Hcv coinfection, an important risk factor for hepatotoxicity in pregnant women starting antiretroviral therapy.

Objectives: This retrospective cohort study evaluated the risk of hepatotoxicity in HIV-1 positive pregnant and non-pregnant women starting combined ART.

Methods: Data were used from the ATHENA observational cohort. The study population consisted of HIV-1 infected, therapy naïve, pregnant and non-pregnant women, followed between January 1997 and February 2008.