Safety, pharmacodynamics, and antiviral activity of selgantolimod in viremic patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

Background & Aims: Novel finite therapies for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) are needed, since lifelong treatment is usually required with current available oral antivirals. This phase II study (NCT03615066) evaluated the safety, pharmacodynamics, and antiviral activity of selgantolimod (a Toll-like receptor 8 agonist [TLR8]) with tenofovir alafenamide (TAF).

Methods: Viremic patients with CHB not receiving treatment were stratified by HBeAg status and randomized 2:2:1 to TAF 25 mg/day with selgantolimod 3 mg orally once weekly (QW), selgantolimod 1.

Perspectives on Adherence From the ACTG 5360 MINMON Trial: A Minimum Monitoring Approach With 12 Weeks of Sofosbuvir/Velpatasvir in Chronic Hepatitis C Treatment.

Background: With the advent of efficacious oral direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for hepatitis C virus (HCV), identification of characteristics associated with adherence is critical to treatment success. We examined correlates of sub-optimal adherence to HCV therapy in a single-arm, multinational, clinical trial.

Methods: ACTG A5360 enrolled HCV treatment-naive persons without decompensated cirrhosis from 5 countries.

Predictors of in-hospital mortality in a cohort of people living with HIV (PLHIV) admitted to an academic medical intensive care unit from 2009 to 2014: A retrospective cohort study.

Outcomes for critically ill people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) have changed with the use of antiretroviral therapy (ART). To identify these outcomes and correlates of mortality in a contemporary critically ill cohort in an urban academic medical center in Baltimore, a city with a high burden of HIV, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of individuals admitted to a medical intensive care unit (MICU) at a tertiary care center between 2009 and 2014. PLHIV who were at least 18 years of age with an index MICU admission of ≥24 hours during the 5-year study period were included in this analysis.

A minimal monitoring approach for the treatment of hepatitis C virus infection (ACTG A5360 [MINMON]): a phase 4, open-label, single-arm trial.

Background: Despite widespread availability of direct-acting antivirals including generic formulations, limited progress has been made in the global adoption of hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment. Barriers to treatment scale-up include availability and access to diagnostic and monitoring tests, health-care infrastructure, and requirement for frequent visits during treatment.

Methods: ACTG A5360 was a phase 4, open-label, single-arm trial across 38 sites in Brazil, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda, and the USA.

Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Viral Hepatitis Elimination: What Is the Price?

In 2016, the World Health Organization developed a plan for viral hepatitis elimination by 2030. Globally, control of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are the most challenging aspects of viral hepatitis elimination. In many developed countries elimination of HBV could be targeted to special populations mostly immigrants from low resource settings.

Establishing an Anal Cancer Screening Program in an Outpatient HIV Clinic: Referral Patterns and Patient Perceptions Survey.

People living with HIV are at high risk for anal cancer (AC); however, the impact of screening for and treatment of precancerous anal lesions on AC incidence remains uncertain. In 2013, we conducted a survey of HIV providers evaluating the perceived need for an institutional AC screening program. Based on an overwhelmingly positive response, we established a dedicated AC screening clinic (including provision of high-resolution anoscopies) embedded within the institutional HIV clinic.

Anal Cancer Screening in an Urban HIV Clinic: Provider Perceptions and Practice.

In this article, we sought to understand the perceptions and practice of providers on anal cancer screening in HIV-infected patients. Providers in an academic outpatient HIV practice were surveyed. Data were analyzed to determine the acceptability and perceptions of providers on anal Papanicolaou tests.

HIV, tobacco use, and poverty: a potential cause of disparities in health status by race and socioeconomic status.

Tobacco use in the U.S. has declined significantly since the 1960s, but differentially by socioeconomic status.