Temporal Association between Influenza Vaccination Coverage and Ambulatory Antibiotic Use in Children.

In this population-based retrospective cohort study, increased influenza vaccination coverage was temporally associated with a reduction in ambulatory antibiotic use in children. After adjustment for yearly vaccine effectiveness, antibiotic prescription rate declined by 3/1000 person-months for each 1% increase in influenza vaccination coverage between 2012 and 2017 in South Carolina (P < 0.001).

Intervention program needs for older adults living with HIV who are childhood sexual abuse survivors.

Objectives: Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) prevalence estimates range from 8-11% among older adults and may range from 16 to 22% among older adults living with HIV (OALH). CSA experiences can still impact the quality of life of older adults. To the best of our knowledge, however, there are no CSA-focused interventions tailored for OALH.

Associations between HIV infection and clinical spectrum of COVID-19: a population level analysis based on US National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) data.

Background: Evidence of whether people living with HIV are at elevated risk of adverse COVID-19 outcomes is inconclusive. We aimed to investigate this association using the population-based National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) data in the USA.

Methods: We included all adult (aged ≥18 years) COVID-19 cases with any health-care encounter from 54 clinical sites in the USA, with data being deposited into the N3C.

infection and antibiotic prescription rates in the community: Explaining the gender gap.

In this cross-sectional population-based study, women had significantly higher crude incidence rates of both community-associated Clostridioides difficile infection (CA-CDI) and ambulatory antibiotic prescriptions compared to men in South Carolina in 2015. After adjustments for antibiotic prescription rates, there was no difference in the incidence rates of CA-CDI between the genders.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Older Adults Living with HIV: HIV Care and Psychosocial Effects.

COVID-19 continues to have a detrimental impact worldwide. Older adults living with HIV are a vulnerable group. COVID-19 may have an effect on HIV treatment outcomes and psychosocial health among older adults living with HIV.

Temporal trends in ambulatory antibiotic prescription rates in South Carolina: Impact of age, gender, and resident location.

Objective: To examine the temporal trends in ambulatory antibiotic prescription fill rates and to determine the influences of age, gender, and location.

Design: Population-based cohort study.

Setting: Ambulatory setting in South Carolina.

Perceptions of functional wellness in women living with HIV in South Carolina, United States: Voices from both patients and providers.

Functional wellness refers to optimal functioning across multiple domains of health and wellbeing (e.g., physical, psychological, social, spiritual), and posits that wellness goes beyond traditional physical/biological health outcomes to include behavioral and social dimensions of health.

Burden of community-associated Clostridioides difficile infection in southeastern United States: a population-based study.

Objectives: This cross-sectional population-based study aims to determine overall incidence rate of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) in the State of South Carolina and provide an estimated cost of hospitalization due to community-associated CDI (CA-CDI).

Methods: All CDI cases in South Carolina were identified through National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and the South Carolina Infectious Disease and Outbreak Network (SCION) from January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016, excluding infants < 1 year of age.

Results: During the 18-month study period, 10,254 CDI events were identified in South Carolina residents with an overall incidence rate of 139/100,000 person-years.

Resilience resources among African American women living with HIV in Southern United States.

Objectives: African American women living with HIV (WLH) often face various challenges to access to and benefit from healthcare across the HIV treatment cascade. Despite experiencing multiple forms of ongoing adversity, some African American WLH are able to adapt and stand strong. The current study aims to identify resources at various socioecological levels that facilitate resilience and explore how these resources interact with each other.

Who Wants to Switch? Gauging Patient Interest in Novel Antiretroviral Therapies.

Study participants were asked about their interest in switching to novel drug delivery systems that reduce the dosing frequency of antiretroviral regimens. Across a diverse, treatment-experienced cohort, we describe greatest interest in switching to an oral regimen taken once weekly, followed by injections taken every other month and twice-annual implants.

Update on raltegravir and the development of new integrase strand transfer inhibitors.

Raltegravir (RAL) is the first antiretroviral in the integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTI) class. The use of RAL has expanded since its approval in October 2007 for multidrug-resistant human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection in adults. RAL is now a guideline-preferred treatment option for antiretroviral-naïve patients, indicated for treatment in adolescents, and is being studied as an integral part of nucleoside sparing regimens.

Role of raltegravir in HIV-1 management.

Objective: To review the literature concerning the role of raltegravir in the treatment of HIV-1 in antiretroviral (ARV)-experienced and ARV-naïve patients.

Data Sources: A PubMed search was conducted for published data through March 2012 using the search terms raltegravir, MK-0518, and integrase strand transfer inhibitor. An additional search of International Pharmaceutical Abstracts for unpublished data, including data from the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, the International AIDS Society, and the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, was conducted using similar search terms.

Medical disease and alcohol use among veterans with human immunodeficiency infection: A comparison of disease measurement strategies.

Background: Many people with human immunodeficiency (HIV) infection drink alcohol. We asked whether level of exposure to alcohol is associated with medical disease in a linear or nonlinear manner, whether the association depends upon the proximity of alcohol use, and whether it varies by source used to measure disease (chart review vs. ICD-9 Diagnostic Codes).