Bone mineral density among children living with HIV failing first-line anti-retroviral therapy in Uganda: A sub-study of the CHAPAS-4 trial.

Background: Children living with perinatally acquired HIV (CLWH) survive into adulthood on antiretroviral therapy (ART). HIV, ART, and malnutrition can all lead to low bone mineral density (BMD). Few studies have described bone health among CLWH in Sub-Saharan Africa.

SARS-CoV-2 Infection in an Adolescent With X-linked Agammaglobulinemia.

We present a case of a 17-year-old boy with X-linked agammaglobulinemia who had mild disease when initially infected with SARS-CoV-2 but after recovering from acute infection developed fevers and a raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate that persisted for several weeks without any ongoing respiratory symptoms. Multiple nasopharyngeal swabs were found to be negative for SARS-CoV-2 during the febrile period, but typical changes of COVID-19 on high resolution CT chest scan led to the detection of SARS-CoV-2 on RT-PCR in a sample from a bronchoalveolar lavage. His fevers completely resolved after a 5-day course of remdesivir.

No need for secondary Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia prophylaxis in adult people living with HIV from Europe on ART with suppressed viraemia and a CD4 cell count greater than 100 cells/µL.

Introduction: Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic in resource-rich countries, Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PjP) is one of the most frequent opportunistic AIDS-defining infections. The Collaboration of Observational HIV Epidemiological Research Europe (COHERE) has shown that primary Pneumocystis jirovecii Pneumonia (PjP) prophylaxis can be safely withdrawn in patients with CD4 counts of 100 to 200 cells/µL if plasma HIV-RNA is suppressed on combination antiretroviral therapy. Whether this holds true for secondary prophylaxis is not known, and this has proved difficult to determine due to the much lower population at risk.

Long-term trends in mortality and AIDS-defining events after combination ART initiation among children and adolescents with perinatal HIV infection in 17 middle- and high-income countries in Europe and Thailand: A cohort study.

Background: Published estimates of mortality and progression to AIDS as children with HIV approach adulthood are limited. We describe rates and risk factors for death and AIDS-defining events in children and adolescents after initiation of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in 17 middle- and high-income countries, including some in Western and Central Europe (W&CE), Eastern Europe (Russia and Ukraine), and Thailand.

Methods And Findings: Children with perinatal HIV aged <18 years initiating cART were followed until their 21st birthday, transfer to adult care, death, loss to follow-up, or last visit up until 31 December 2013.

Who Gets Severe Gynecomastia Among HIV-infected Children in the United Kingdom and Ireland?

There are few data on gynecomastia in HIV-infected children. Within the UK/Ireland's national cohort, 56 of 1873 (3%) HIV-infected children had gynecomastia, of which 10 (0.5%) were severe.

Using a simple point-prevalence survey to define appropriate antibiotic prescribing in hospitalised children across the UK.

Background: The National Health Service England, Commissioning for Quality and Innovation for Antimicrobial Resistance (CQUIN AMR) aims to reduce the total antibiotic consumption and the use of certain broad-spectrum antibiotics in secondary care. However, robust baseline antibiotic use data are lacking for hospitalised children. In this study, we aim to describe, compare and explain the prescription patterns of antibiotics within and between paediatric units in the UK and to provide a baseline for antibiotic prescribing for future improvement using CQUIN AMR guidance.

Acute flaccid weakness with myelopathy and peripheral nerve involvement in 2 children: Recent characterization of a previously observed phenomenon.

Background: Acute flaccid weakness may be the first presentation of acute transverse myelitis (ATM), an immune-mediated central nervous system disorder or may be the first presentation of anterior horn cell syndrome or peripheral nervous system disease.

Case Reports: We describe two previously healthy female infants who presented with acute flaccid paralysis and encephalopathy. Neuroimaging revealed central cord signal changes in both cases and surprisingly electrophysiological studies performed revealed a generalized axonal motor neuropathy as well.

Prevalence, incidence, and associated risk factors of tuberculosis in children with HIV living in the UK and Ireland (CHIPS): a cohort study.

Background: Tuberculosis is the most common serious co-infection in people living with HIV worldwide, but little is known about its incidence in HIV-infected children living in high-resource settings with low tuberculosis prevalence. We aimed to assess the incidence and prevalence of tuberculosis in children with HIV living in the UK and Ireland to understand rates, risk factors, and outcomes of the disease in this group.

Methods: We did an analysis of children enrolled in CHIPS, an observational multicentre cohort of children receiving HIV care in the UK and Ireland.

Outcomes after viral load rebound on first-line antiretroviraltreatment in children with HIV in the UK and Ireland: an observational cohort study.

Background: About a third of children with HIV have virological failure within 2 years of beginning antiretroviral treatment (ART). We assessed the probability of switch to second-line ART or virological re-suppression without switch in children who had virological rebound on first-line ART in the UK and Ireland.

Methods: In this study, we used data reported to the Collaborative HIV Paediatric Study (CHIPS), a national multicentre observational cohort.

Long-term virological outcome in children on antiretroviral therapy in the UK and Ireland.

Objective: To assess factors at the start of antiretroviral therapy (ART) associated with long-term virological response in children.

Design: Multicentre national cohort.

Methods: Factors associated with viral load below 400 copies/ml by 12 months and virologic failure among children starting 3/4-drug ART in the UK/Irish Collaborative HIV Paediatric Study were assessed using Poisson models.

Incidence of pneumococcal and varicella disease in HIV-infected children and adolescents in the United Kingdom and Ireland, 1996-2011.

Background: To define the burden of hospitalization due to 2 vaccine-preventable infections, invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and varicella zoster (VZ), among HIV-infected children in the UK and Ireland.

Methods: Analysis of hospitalizations of HIV-infected children <18 years receiving pediatric care and reported to the Collaborative HIV Paediatric Study (CHIPS) between 1996 and 2011.

Results: Admissions for IPD and VZ combined accounted for ~5% of all hospital admissions for HIV-infected children each year.

Incidence, spectrum and outcome of immune reconstitution syndrome in HIV-infected children after initiation of antiretroviral therapy.

Background: Immune reconstitution syndrome (IRS) is a relatively common complication in HIV-infected adults starting combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Data on IRS in HIV-infected children remain limited and are largely restricted to resource-limited settings. This study investigated the incidence, spectrum and outcome of IRS in a pediatric cohort in the United Kingdom.

Rifampicin pharmacokinetics in extreme prematurity to treat congenital tuberculosis.

Little evidence is available on the pharmacokinetics of antituberculous medication in premature infants. We report rifampicin (RMP) pharmacokinetics in an extremely premature, low-birthweight female infant born to a mother with known miliary tuberculosis. Intravenous RMP, isoniazid (INH), ciprofloxacin and amikacin were used, as the enteral route was not possible.

Lopinavir dosing in HIV-infected children in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Background: Uncertainty surrounds the correct dosing of lopinavir/r (LPV/r) in HIV-infected children not receiving non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. The licensed total daily dose is 460 mg/m², whereas the original study, reporting excellent viral load (VL) suppression, used a higher 600 mg/m² dose.

Methods: We calculated LPV/r daily doses prescribed from 2000 to 2009 within the UK/Irish national Collaborative HIV Paediatric Study (CHIPS) cohort.

Comparing neonatal and paediatric antibiotic prescribing between hospitals: a new algorithm to help international benchmarking.

Objectives: The WHO anatomical therapeutic chemical (ATC)/defined daily dose (DDD) methodology is a standardized method of comparing antimicrobial use. The ATC/DDD is defined as the average maintenance daily dose of a drug used in a 70 kg adult, ignoring the considerable differences in body weight of neonates and children. The aim of this study was to develop a new standardized way of comparing rates of antimicrobial prescribing between European children's hospitals.

The immunogenicity of a novel A (H1N1) vaccine in HIV-infected children.

Background: In October 2009, the United Kingdom Department of Health recommended vaccination of high-risk groups, including children with HIV, with a novel, oil-in-water AS03(B) adjuvanted Influenza A (H1N1) vaccine (Pandemrix). There were no published data available regarding the immunogenicity of this vaccine in such children.

Objectives: This study evaluated the immunogenicity of the adjuvanted Influenza A (H1N1) vaccine in HIV-infected children immunised according to national recommendations and assessed the impact of vaccination on individual CD4 counts and HIV viral loads.

Is it safe to discontinue primary Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia prophylaxis in patients with virologically suppressed HIV infection and a CD4 cell count <200 cells/microL?

Background: Current guidelines suggest that primary prophylaxis for Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PcP) can be safely stopped in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients who are receiving combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) and who have a CD4 cell count >200 cells/microL. There are few data regarding the incidence of PcP or safety of stopping prophylaxis in virologically suppressed patients with CD4 cell counts of 101-200 cells/microL.

Methods: The Opportunistic Infections Project Team of the Collaboration of Observational HIV Epidemiological Research in Europe (COHERE) included data from 23,412 patients from 12 European cohorts who started taking cART after 1997.