COVID-19 Infection Outcomes and Testing Outreach Efforts Among People Living With HIV in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Introduction: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the incidence and severity of COVID-19 co-infection in people living with HIV (PLWH) has been an area of investigative research. Clinic databases of PLWH provide opportunities to investigate outcomes of COVID-19 co-infection and efficacy of outreach efforts, which are integral to patient care during health crises.

Methods: All PLWH over 18 years of age who receive care at the Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin Adult Infectious Disease Clinic and who had a COVID-19 test performed during May 2020 through March 2021 were included for analysis.

HIV-1 DNA and Immune Activation Levels Differ for Long-Lived T-Cells in Lymph Nodes, Compared with Peripheral Blood, during Antiretroviral Therapy.

Elucidating the mechanisms underlying the persistence and location of the HIV reservoir is critical for developing cure interventions. While it has been shown that levels of T-cell activation and the size of the HIV reservoir are greater in rectal tissue and lymph nodes (LN) than in blood, the relative contributions of T-cell subsets to this anatomic difference are unknown. We measured and compared HIV-1 DNA content, expression of the T-cell activation markers CD38 and HLA-DR, and expression of the exhaustion markers programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and T-cell immunoreceptor with immunoglobulin and immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif domains (TIGIT) in naive, central memory (CM), transitional memory (TM), and effector memory (EM) CD4 and CD8 T-cells in paired blood and LN samples among 14 people with HIV who were receiving antiretroviral therapy.

Risk factors and epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infection in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients during the peritransplant period.

Background: Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients represent a high-risk group for developing Clostridium difficile (CD) infection (CDI). We aimed to identify specific risk factors for CDI in an HSCT patient population during the peritransplant period.

Methods: We performed a case-control study within a cohort of HSCT patients who received a transplant from November 2010 to March 2013.

Characteristics and Antibiotic Use Associated With Short-Term Risk of Clostridium difficile Infection Among Hospitalized Patients.

Objectives: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been shown to have an excellent sensitivity and specificity for the detection of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Little is known about risk factors for CDI within 14 days of an initial negative test. We sought to determine the characteristics among hospitalized patients associated with risk of short-term acquisition of CDI.