Personal and Network-Related Factors Associated to Diagnosis Disclosure Reactions for Children and Adolescents Living with HIV.

The process of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) diagnosis disclosure for vertically infected young people living with HIV has proven decisive for acceptance/adherence to treatment. Herein, we present a cross-sectional study aiming at evaluating how individual and network related variables are associated with reactions to HIV disclosure among them. We used the egocentric approach with a structured questionnaire applied to individuals aged 15-25 years in an HIV referral center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

HIV Vertical transmission in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - does the distance matter?

Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) is the main route of transmission for HIV among under 5 children in Brazil. National data indicate that missed opportunities for HIV prevention of MTCT are still common in antenatal care (ANC). We studied variables related to target process indicators in a cohort of HIV exposed children.

Safety and immune response after two-dose meningococcal C conjugate immunization in HIV-infected children and adolescents in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Unlabelled: We aimed to evaluate immunogenicity and adverse events (AEs) after a booster dose of Meningococcal C conjugated (MCC) vaccine in HIV-infected children and adolescents, who had a previous low seroconversion rate after priming with MCC, at a reference HIV-care center in Rio de Janeiro.

Methods: 2-18 years old HIV-infected subjects with CD4+ T-lymphocyte cell (CD4) ≥15%, without active infection or antibiotic use, were enrolled to receive 2 doses of conjugated meningococcal C oligosaccharide-CRM197 12-18 months apart. All patients were evaluated before and 1-2 months after immunization for seroprotection [defined as human serum bactericidal activity (hSBA) titer ≥1:4].

The cascade of care to prevent mother-to-child transmission in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1996-2013: improving but still some way to go.

Objective: To describe the cascade of care to HIV mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) in a Rio de Janeiro reference paediatric clinic and evaluate the main factors possibly associated with HIV transmission.

Methods: Data on antenatal care (ANC), perinatal and neonatal assistance to HIV-infected and HIV-exposed but uninfected children assisted in the clinic from 1996 to 2013 were collected. The cascade of care was graphically demonstrated, and possible factors associated with HIV infection were described using regression models for bivariate and multivariate analysis.

In Utero Exposure to Antiretroviral Drugs: Effect on Birth Weight and Growth Among HIV-exposed Uninfected Children in Brazil.

Background: There are concerns about the effects of in utero exposure to antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) on the development of HIV-exposed but uninfected (HEU) children. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether in utero exposure to ARVs is associated with lower birth weight/height and reduced growth during the first 2 years of life.

Methods: This cohort study was conducted among HEU infants born between 1996 and 2010 in Tertiary children's hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Immunogenicity and safety of meningococcal C conjugate vaccine in children and adolescents infected and uninfected with HIV in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Background: We aimed to evaluate the Meningococcal (Neisseria meningitidis) C conjugated (MCC) vaccine seroconversion and adverse events (AEs) in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected children and adolescents in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Methods: HIV-infected or HIV-uninfected subjects, 2-18 years old, with CD4+ T-lymphocyte cell (CD4) percentage >15%, without active infection or antibiotic use, were enrolled. All patients were evaluated before and 1-2 months after immunization for seroconversion (defined as ≥4-fold titer increase in human serum bactericidal activity) and at 20 minutes, 3 and 7 days after immunization for AEs.

Short communication: kidney dysfunction among HIV-infected children in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Renal toxicity is a concern in HIV-infected children receiving antiretrovirals. However, the prevalence [1.7%; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.

Evaluation of viral load thresholds for predicting new World Health Organization stage 3 and 4 events in HIV-infected children receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Background: This study evaluated a wide range of viral load (VL) thresholds to identify a cut-point that best predicts new clinical events in children on stable highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

Methods: Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to assess the adjusted risk for World Health Organization stage 3 or 4 clinical events (WHO events) as a function of time-varying CD4, VL, and hemoglobin values in a cohort study of Latin American children on HAART ≥6 months. Models were fit using different VL cut-points between 400 and 50,000 copies per milliliter, with model fit evaluated on the basis of the minimum Akaike information criterion value, a standard model fit statistic.

Neonatal factors associated with HIV long term non-progressors in a cohort of vertically infected children in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ('Peixe' Project).

There are only scarce data on HIV progression in vertically infected children in developing countries. The aim of this study is to describe factors from neonatal period associated with long term non-progression (LTNP), in a Brazilian cohort. A cohort study, with data systematically collected from the 'Peixe' Cohort (cohort study of children conducted at the main HIV Pediatric Center in Rio de Janeiro, from 1996 to 2005).

Growth parameters in HIV-vertically-infected adolescents on antiretroviral therapy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Background: Growth failure in HIV-infected children is an important factor in either initiating or changing antiretroviral therapy (ART). This study assesses the impact of HIV infection on growth parameters of adolescents who acquired HIV vertically.

Methods: This retrospective, longitudinal study involved adolescents aged 10-20 years with vertically-acquired HIV infection who were followed up in one of the three main referral centres for paediatric HIV/AIDS in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Prevalence of oral hairy leukoplakia in 120 pediatric patients infected with HIV-1.

Oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL) is an EBV (Epstein-Barr virus) opportunistic infection found in HIV-infected patients. It is an asymptomatic lesion that has an important prognostic value in AIDS. Differently from what takes place with HIV adult patients, OHL has been described in the literature as having a very small prevalence in pediatric patients.