Is Neutrophil-Lymphocyte Count Ratio a Better Indicator of Sepsis with Gram-positive Bacterial Infection?

Background: Sepsis is the main cause of death in infectious diseases that can be caused by gram-negative or gram-positive bacteria. Definitive therapy for sepsis is antibiotics, depending on blood culture results even though it takes time for bacterial growth. Neutrophil-lymphocyte count ratio (NLCR) is a laboratory parameter that can predict bacterial infection in sepsis patients.

Inverse relationship of serum hepcidin levels with CD4 cell counts in HIV-infected patients selected from an Indonesian prospective cohort study.

Background: Distortion of iron homeostasis may contribute to the pathogenesis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and tuberculosis (TB). We studied the association of the central iron-regulatory hormone hepcidin with the severity of HIV and the association between hepcidin and other markers of iron homeostasis with development of TB.

Methods: Three groups of patients were selected from a prospective cohort of HIV-infected subjects in Bandung, Indonesia.

Evidence for endemic chikungunya virus infections in Bandung, Indonesia.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is known to cause sporadic or explosive outbreaks. However, little is known about the endemic transmission of CHIKV. To ascertain the endemic occurrence of CHIKV transmission, we tested blood samples from patients with a non-dengue febrile illness who participated in a prospective cohort study of factory workers in Bandung, Indonesia.

Virological failure and drug resistance during first line anti-retroviral treatment in Indonesia.

The virological response and development of drug resistance during first-line anti-retroviral treatment (ART) were studied in Indonesia where the majority of patients infected with HIV have a history of injecting drug use, which is often linked with lower treatment adherence and development of drug-resistance. As many as 575 patients starting ART between September 2007 and March 2010 in Hasan Sadikin Hospital Bandung were followed prospectively. Clinical and laboratory monitoring was performed every 6 months.

Response to first-line antiretroviral treatment among human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients with and without a history of injecting drug use in Indonesia.

Background: There is a common belief that injecting drug use (IDU) is associated with lower uptake, retention and success of antiretroviral treatment (ART) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients. We examined this in an Indonesian setting, where IDU is the main risk factor for HIV infection.

Methods: Patient characteristics and response to ART were recorded for all patients diagnosed with HIV infection in the referral hospital for West Java (40 million people).