CD4/CD8 Ratio Outcome According to the Class of the Third Active Drug in Antiretroviral Therapy Regimens: Results From the Quebec Human Immunodeficiency Virus Cohort Study.

Background: The impact of different therapeutic classes of drugs in antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens on the CD4/CD8 ratio is not well documented in people treated for HIV. The objective of this study was to analyze the long-term effect of exposure to integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) on CD4/CD8 ratio compared with nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) or protease inhibitor (PI) among ART-treated persons with HIV (PWH).

Methods: Data from the Quebec HIV Cohort collected from 31 August 2017 were used.

Impact of previous HIV resistance and virologic failures on virologic outcome following a switch to dolutegravir with 2 NRTIs among people living with HIV.

There is uncertainty regarding the potential virologic outcome associated with a change in antiretroviral therapy (ARV) among PLHIV who had previous documented virologic failure or who have been exposure to mono/dual nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI) therapy. The objective was to measure the potential impact of exposure to previous virologic failure or mono/dual NRTI regimen on virologic outcome of PLHIV following a switch to dolutegravir with 2 NRTIs from a viremia suppressive ARV therapy.Data from the Quebec HIV Cohort including 10219 PLHIV were collected through routine clinical care at 4 clinical sites in Montreal, Canada.

Treatment Switch to Dolutegravir With 2 Nucleoside Reverse-Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTI) in Comparison to Continuation With Protease Inhibitor/Ritonavir Among Patients With Human Immunodeficiency Virus at Risk for Prior NRTI Resistance: A Cohort Analysis of Real-World Data.

Background: Switching antiretroviral regimens when human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) viremia is controlled for a new regimen is challenging when there is the potential for prior nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) resistance. The objective was to study virologic outcomes after switching to dolutegravir compared with remaining on a boosted protease inhibitor (protease inhibitor/ritonavir [PI/r]) regimen in people with HIV (PWH) with prior documented virologic failure and/or exposure to mono/dual NRTIs.

Methods: We used the Quebec HIV Cohort including 10 219 PWH whose data were collected at 4 sites in Montreal, Canada.

HIV-1 Envelope Glycoprotein Amino Acids Signatures Associated with Clade B Transmitted/Founder and Recent Viruses.

Background: HIV-1 transmitted/founder viruses (TF) are selected during the acute phase of infection from a multitude of virions present during transmission. They possess the capacity to establish infection and viral dissemination in a new host. Deciphering the discrete genetic determinant of infectivity in their envelope may provide clues for vaccine design.

A Short-Term Assessment of Nascent HIV-1 Transmission Clusters Among Newly Diagnosed Individuals Using Envelope Sequence-Based Phylogenetic Analyses.

The identification of transmission clusters (TCs) of HIV-1 using phylogenetic analyses can provide insights into viral transmission network and help improve prevention strategies. We compared the use of partial HIV-1 envelope fragment of 1,070 bp with its loop 3 (108 bp) to determine its utility in inferring HIV-1 transmission clustering. Serum samples of recently ( = 106) and chronically ( = 156) HIV-1-infected patients with status confirmed were sequenced.

HIV-1 envelope sequence-based diversity measures for identifying recent infections.

Identifying recent HIV-1 infections is crucial for monitoring HIV-1 incidence and optimizing public health prevention efforts. To identify recent HIV-1 infections, we evaluated and compared the performance of 4 sequence-based diversity measures including percent diversity, percent complexity, Shannon entropy and number of haplotypes targeting 13 genetic segments within the env gene of HIV-1. A total of 597 diagnostic samples obtained in 2013 and 2015 from recently and chronically HIV-1 infected individuals were selected.

A national teleradiology programme in Mali: implementation and results.

We reviewed the national teleradiology programme in Mali to establish whether it improved diagnosis for patients and improved the referring doctor's ability to give an accurate diagnosis. The teleradiology programme connected the University Hospital in Bamako to all seven regional hospitals in Mali and one private health clinic. The pilot phase began in 2005 in three hospitals.