Multi-drug resistant : a 2019-2020 single center retrospective case control study.

Unlabelled: Multi-drug resistance in the post COVID-19 world is a growing concern. The objective of this study was to describe temporal trends and explore independent risk factors for the isolation of multi-drug resistant (MDR)

Methods: This was a retrospective case-control study of patients with isolates recovered from January 2019 to December 2020. MDR was defined as non-susceptibility to at least one agent in three or more anti-pseudomonal antimicrobial categories.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Status, Tenofovir Exposure, and the Risk of Poor Coronavirus Disease 19 Outcomes: Real-World Analysis From 6 United States Cohorts Before Vaccine Rollout.

Background: People with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (PWH) may be at increased risk for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes. We examined HIV status and COVID-19 severity, and whether tenofovir, used by PWH for HIV treatment and people without HIV (PWoH) for HIV prevention, was associated with protection.

Methods: Within 6 cohorts of PWH and PWoH in the United States, we compared the 90-day risk of any hospitalization, COVID-19 hospitalization, and mechanical ventilation or death by HIV status and by prior exposure to tenofovir, among those with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection between 1 March and 30 November 2020.

T-Cell Immune Dysregulation and Mortality in Women With Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

Summary: In women with HIV, higher activation and exhaustion of CD4+ T cells were associated with risk of non-HIV-related mortality during a median of 13.3 years of follow-up, independent of baseline demographic, behavioral, HIV-related, and cardiometabolic factors and longitudinal HIV disease progression.

Background: Dysregulation of adaptive immunity is a hallmark of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection that persists on antiretroviral therapy (ART).

HLA B53 is associated with a poor outcome in black COVID-19 patients.

A disproportionate incidence of death has occurred in African Americans (Blacks) in the United States due to COVID-19. The reason for this disparity is likely to be multi-factorial and may involve genetic predisposition. The association of human leukocyte antigens (HLA) with severe COVID-19 was examined in a hospitalized population (89% Black, n = 36) and compared to HLA typed non-hospitalized individuals (20% Black, n = 40) who had recovered from mild disease.

Decreases in markers of monocyte/macrophage activation after hepatitis C eradication in HIV/hepatitis C virus coinfected women.

Objective: Eradication of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in HIV disease decreases liver and non-liver-related morbidity and mortality. Elevated markers of monocyte/macrophage activation (soluble CD163 and sCD14) are associated with excess non-AIDS morbidity and mortality in HIV. We examined the effect of HCV eradication on these markers in relation to change in hepatic fibrosis.

A genomic variant of ALPK2 is associated with increased liver fibrosis risk in HIV/HCV coinfected women.

HIV coinfection is associated with more rapid liver fibrosis progression in hepatitis C (HCV) infection. Recently, much work has been done to improve outcomes of liver disease and to identify targets for pharmacological intervention in coinfected patients. In this study, we analyzed clinical data of 1,858 participants from the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) to characterize risk factors associated with changes in the APRI and FIB-4 surrogate measurements for advanced fibrosis.

Administration of high titer convalescent anti-SARS-CoV-2 plasma: From donor selection to monitoring recipient outcomes.

Early in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, convalescent plasma (CP) therapy was proposed as a treatment for severely ill patients. We conducted a CP treatment protocol under the Mayo Clinic Extended Access Program at University Hospital Brooklyn (UHB). Potential donors were screened with a lateral flow assay (LFA) for IgM and IgG antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 S1 receptor-binding domain (RBD).

Clinical Performance of the BD CTGCTV2 Assay for the BD MAX System for Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Trichomonas vaginalis Infections.

Background: Diagnostic options to combat the increasing rates of sexually transmitted infections recorded throughout the world increasingly include multiplex assays. Here we describe the estimated sensitivity and specificity of a triplex molecular assay that simultaneously detects Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (or gonococci [GC]), and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV).

Methods: Participants (2547 women and 1159 men) were recruited from 12 clinics in the United States.

Factors associated with syphilis seroprevalence in women with and at-risk for HIV infection in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (1994-2015).

Objective: Syphilis rates among women in the USA more than doubled between 2014 and 2018. We sought to identify correlates of syphilis among women enrolled in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) to inform targeted interventions.

Methods: The retrospective cross-sectional analysis of secondary data included women with HIV or at-risk of HIV who enrolled in the multisite US WIHS cohort between 1994 and 2015.

An Unusual Presentation of Prostatic Abscess due to Actinomyces turicensis and Peptostreptococcus.

Actinomyces is a rare cause of prostatic abscess. Most reported cases of abdominal and pelvic actinomycosis are a consequence of invasive procedures or abdominal infections. In this report, we present a previously healthy 53-year-old man with inguinal pain, fever and dysuria who was found to have a prostate abscess, secondary to Actinomyces turicensis and Peptostreptococcus, which was removed via transurethral resection of the prostate.

Loss of Preexisting Immunological Memory Among Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Women Despite Immune Reconstitution With Antiretroviral Therapy.

Background: It is unclear whether human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection results in permanent loss of T-cell memory or if it affects preexisting antibodies to childhood vaccinations or infections.

Methods: We conducted a matched cohort study involving 50 pairs of HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women. Total memory T-cell responses were measured after anti-CD3 or vaccinia virus (VV) stimulation to measure T cells elicited after childhood smallpox vaccination.

Weight Gain Associated With Integrase Stand Transfer Inhibitor Use in Women.

Background: Integrase strand-transfer inhibitor (INSTI)-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) is recommended for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) management. Although studies have suggested associations between INSTIs and weight gain, women living with HIV (WLHIV) have been underrepresented in research. We evaluated the effect of switching or adding INSTIs among WLHIV.

Association between Use of Methadone, Other Central Nervous System Depressants, and QTc Interval-Prolonging Medications and Risk of Mortality in a Large Cohort of Women Living with or at Risk for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection.

Study Objective: To evaluate the association between use of methadone, other central nervous system (CNS) depressants, and QTc interval-prolonging medications and risk of mortality among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected and at-risk HIV-uninfected women.

Design: Multicenter, prospective, observational cohort study (Women's Interagency HIV Study [WIHS]).

Participants: A total of 4150 women enrolled in the WIHS study between 1994 and 2014 who were infected (3119 women) or not infected (1031 women) with HIV.

A Fungal Immunotherapeutic Vaccine (NDV-3A) for Treatment of Recurrent Vulvovaginal Candidiasis-A Phase 2 Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Background: Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC) is a problematic form of mucosal Candida infection, characterized by repeated episodes per year. Candida albicans is the most common cause of RVVC. Currently, there are no immunotherapeutic treatments for RVVC.

Artificial Differences in Clostridium difficile Infection Rates Associated with Disparity in Testing.

In 2015, Clostridium difficile testing rates among 30 US community, multispecialty, and cancer hospitals were 14.0, 16.3, and 33.

Chronic hepatitis C virus infection and subsequent HIV viral load among women with HIV initiating antiretroviral therapy.

Objectives: One in four persons living with HIV is coinfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Biological and behavioral mechanisms may increase HIV viral load among coinfected persons. Therefore, we estimated the longitudinal effect of chronic HCV on HIV suppression after ART initiation among women with HIV (WWH).

Macrophage Activation and the Tumor Necrosis Factor Cascade in Hepatitis C Disease Progression Among HIV-Infected Women Participating in the Women's Interagency HIV Study.

Background: HIV/hepatitis C-coinfected persons experience more rapid liver disease progression than hepatitis C virus (HCV) monoinfected persons, even in the setting of potent antiretroviral therapy.

Methods: We sought to articulate the role of macrophage activation and inflammation in liver disease progression by measuring serial soluble markers in HIV/HCV-coinfected women. We compared markers measured during retrospectively defined periods of rapid liver disease progression to periods where little or no liver disease progression occurred.

Moderate Alcohol Use Is Not Associated With Fibrosis Progression in Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Hepatitis C Virus-Coinfected Women: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Heavy alcohol use can lead to progressive liver damage, especially in individuals with chronic hepatitis C (HCV); however, the impact of nonheavy use is not clear. We studied long-term effects of modest alcohol use on fibrosis progression in a large cohort of women coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/HCV.

Methods: Alcohol intake was ascertained every 6 months and use categorized as abstinent, light (1-3 drinks/week), moderate (4-7 drinks/week), heavy (>7 drinks/week), and very heavy (>14 drinks/week).

Marijuana Use Is Not Associated With Progression to Advanced Liver Fibrosis in HIV/Hepatitis C Virus-coinfected Women.

Background: Marijuana (hereafter "tetrahydrocannabinol [THC]") use has been associated with liver fibrosis progression in retrospective analyses of patients with chronic hepatitis C (HCV). We studied long-term effects of THC on fibrosis progression in women coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/HCV enrolled in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS).

Methods: Liver fibrosis was categorized according to FIB-4 scores as none, moderate, or significant.

Association of Hepatitis C Virus Infection With CD4/CD8 Ratio in HIV-Positive Women.

Background: Recent studies reported that the CD4/CD8 T-cell ratio is inversely associated with biomarkers traditionally used to measure immune activation and systemic inflammation in highly active antiretroviral therapy-treated HIV-infected (HIV+) patients. The relation of hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection with the CD4/CD8 ratio in HIV+ patients is unknown.

Methods: We examined 50,201 CD4/CD8 ratios measured over 20 years in 3 groups of HIV+ women enrolled in the Women's Interagency HIV Study: HCV antibody negative (n = 1734), cleared HCV (n = 231), and chronic HCV (n = 751) in multivariate models.

Isolated Hepatitis B Core Antibody Status Is Not Associated With Accelerated Liver Disease Progression in HIV/Hepatitis C Coinfection.

Background: Isolated hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) is a common serologic finding in HIV-infected persons, but the clinical significance is uncertain. We studied HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected women over time to determine whether the trajectory of liver disease progression is affected by isolated anti-HBc serologic status.

Methods: We performed serial enhanced liver fibrosis (ELF) markers on HIV/HCV-coinfected women to assess liver disease progression trajectory over time comparing women with isolated anti-HBc to women with either negative HB serologies, anti-HBs alone, or anti-HBc and anti-HBs.