Sex and Race Disparities in Mortality and Years of Potential Life Lost Among People With HIV: A 21-Year Observational Cohort Study.

Background: Since the availability of antiretroviral therapy, mortality rates among people with HIV (PWH) have decreased; however, this does not quantify premature deaths among PWH, and disparities persist.

Methods: We examined all-cause and premature mortality among PWH receiving care at the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Care Clinic from January 1998 to December 2018. Mortality rates were compared by demographic and clinical factors, and adjusted incidence rate ratios (aIRRs) were calculated using multivariable Poisson regression.

Practice Transformation in HIV Primary Care: Perspectives of Coaches and Champions in the Southeast United States.

Introduction/objectives: Across the United States, and particularly in the South, there is an urgent need to improve health outcomes for people with HIV. In response, the Southeast AIDS Education & Training Center (AETC) conducted a 4-year Practice Transformation (PT) initiative (2015-2018) in 12 mostly primary care clinics across 4 states in the region. Drawing on the leadership of PT facilitators ("coaches") from AETC partner sites throughout the region and specific clinic staff members ("champions"), clinics worked toward self-selected organizational goals to increase their HIV care capacity and improve HIV health outcomes.

CD4/CD8 Ratio and CD4 Nadir Predict Mortality Following Noncommunicable Disease Diagnosis in Adults Living with HIV.

Incidence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular disease (CVD), cirrhosis, and non-AIDS-defining cancers (NADCs), have been associated with HIV viremia, CD4 cell counts, and CD4/CD8 ratio in persons living with HIV (PLWH). This study examined the importance of these markers to mortality risk following NCD diagnosis. We examined factors associated with mortality following incident CVD, cirrhosis, or NADCs in a clinical cohort of PLWH between 1998 and 2015.

Greater Weight Gain in Treatment-naive Persons Starting Dolutegravir-based Antiretroviral Therapy.

Background: Recent studies have reported weight gain in virologically suppressed persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH) switched from older antiretroviral therapy (ART) to newer integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI)-based regimens. In this study, we investigated whether weight gain differs among treatment-naive PLWH starting INSTI-based regimens compared to other ART regimens.

Methods: Adult, treatment-naive PLWH in the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Care Clinic cohort initiating INSTI-, protease inhibitor (PI)-, and nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based ART between January 2007 and June 2016 were included.

The relationship between adverse neighborhood socioeconomic context and HIV continuum of care outcomes in a diverse HIV clinic cohort in the Southern United States.

Retention in care and viral suppression are critical to delaying HIV progression and reducing transmission. Neighborhood socioeconomic context (NSEC) may affect HIV care receipt. We therefore assessed NSEC's impact on retention and viral suppression in a diverse HIV clinical cohort.

Brief Report: Weight Gain in Persons With HIV Switched From Efavirenz-Based to Integrase Strand Transfer Inhibitor-Based Regimens.

Background: With the introduction of integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI)-based antiretroviral therapy, persons living with HIV have a potent new treatment option. Recently, providers at our large treatment clinic noted weight gain in several patients who switched from efavirenz/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine (EFV/TDF/FTC) to dolutegravir/abacavir/lamivudine (DTG/ABC/3TC). In this study, we evaluated weight change in patients with sustained virologic suppression who switched from EFV/TDF/FTC to an INSTI-containing regimen.

New Faces of HIV Infection: Age, Race, and Timing of Entry into HIV Care in the Southeastern United States.

Among younger men who have sex with men (MSM), the incidence of HIV is rising nationally. Of the 281 persons who entered into care at a large HIV clinic in the southeastern United States in 2010 to 2012, 78 (27.8%) were <25 years old at the time of diagnosis.

Surgical excision for recurrent herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) anogenital infection in a patient with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Recurrent anogenital herpes simplex virus infections are common in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), of whom approximately 5% develop resistance to acyclovir. We present a case of a 49-year-old man with HIV who had an 8-year history of recurrent left inguinal herpes simplex virus type 2 ulcerations. He initially responded to oral acyclovir, but developed resistance to acyclovir and eventually foscarnet.

Trends in HIV Continuum of Care Outcomes over Ten Years of Follow-Up at a Large HIV Primary Medical Home in the Southeastern United States.

Longitudinal studies of retention in care (RIC) and viral suppression (VS) in the southeastern United States (US), a region disproportionately affected by HIV infection, are lacking. HIV-infected adults with ≥1 medical visit at the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Care Clinic (Nashville, Tennessee) from 2004 to 2013 were included. RIC was ≥2 (a) laboratory dates [CD4+ counts or HIV-1 viral loads (VLs)] or (b) provider encounters and/or laboratory dates in the year of interest, ≥90 days apart.

CD4+/CD8+ ratio, age, and risk of serious noncommunicable diseases in HIV-infected adults on antiretroviral therapy.

Objective: In virologically suppressed HIV-infected adults, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) have been associated with immune senescence and low CD4/CD8 lymphocyte ratio. Age differences in the relationship between CD4/CD8 ratio and NCDs have not been described.

Design: Observational cohort study.

Risk Prediction Tool for Medical Appointment Attendance Among HIV-Infected Persons with Unsuppressed Viremia.

Successful treatment of HIV infection requires regular clinical follow-up. A previously published risk-prediction tool (RPT) utilizing data from the electronic health record (EHR) including medication adherence, previous appointment attendance, substance abuse, recent CD4+ count, prior antiretroviral therapy (ART) exposure, prior treatment failure, and recent HIV-1 viral load (VL) has been shown to predict virologic failure at 1 year. If this same tool could be used to predict the more immediate event of appointment attendance, high-risk patients could be identified and interventions could be targeted to improve this outcome.

Tuberculosis risk before and after highly active antiretroviral therapy initiation: does HAART increase the short-term TB risk in a low incidence TB setting?

Objective: To evaluate the short-term and long-term effects of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on tuberculosis (TB) risk compared with risk without HAART in a low TB incidence setting.

Design: An observational cohort study among HIV-infected persons in care at the Comprehensive Care Center (Nashville, TN) between January 1998 and December 2008.

Methods: A marginal structural model was used to estimate the effect of HAART on short-term (≤180 days) and long-term (>180 days) TB risk, with CD4⁺ lymphocyte count incorporated as a time-updated covariate.

Tenofovir (TDF)-selected or abacavir (ABC)-selected low-frequency HIV type 1 subpopulations during failure with persistent viremia as detected by ultradeep pyrosequencing.

Detection of drug resistance is critical for determining antiretroviral treatment options. Ultradeep pyrosequencing (UDPS; 454 Life Sciences) is capable of detecting virus variant subpopulations with much greater sensitivity than population sequencing, which typically has a detection limit around 20%. UDPS of the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) (amino acids 56-120) was performed to detect the key mutations K65R and L74V associated with tenofovir and abacavir use.

Antiretroviral therapy initiation before, during, or after pregnancy in HIV-1-infected women: maternal virologic, immunologic, and clinical response.

Background: Pregnancy has been associated with a decreased risk of HIV disease progression in the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era. The effect of timing of HAART initiation relative to pregnancy on maternal virologic, immunologic and clinical outcomes has not been assessed.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study from 1997-2005 among 112 pregnant HIV-infected women who started HAART before (N = 12), during (N = 70) or after pregnancy (N = 30).

Improved prevention counseling by HIV care providers in a multisite, clinic-based intervention: Positive STEPs.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommended that HIV care clinics incorporate prevention into clinical practice. This report summarizes HIV care providers' attitudes and counseling practices before and after they received training to deliver a counseling intervention to patients. Providers at seven HIV clinics received training in delivering a counseling intervention (Positive STEPs) to their patients and completed baseline and follow-up questionnaires to measure changes in prevention parameters.

Race and sex differences in antiretroviral therapy use and mortality among HIV-infected persons in care.

Background: There are conflicting data regarding race, sex, and mortality among persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We studied all-cause mortality among persons in care during the highly-active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included patients who made>or=1 clinic visit from January 1998 through December 2005.

Sociodemographic factors predict early discontinuation of HIV non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors and protease inhibitors.

Background/objective: HIV infection has a devastating impact on individual and public health, and affects populations disproportionately. Treatment with antiretroviral therapy (ART) saves lives, but long-term adherence to ART is critical to its success. We performed an observational cohort study to determine the influence of race, sex and other sociodemographic factors on early ART discontinuations among HIV-infected persons.

Cross-cohort heterogeneity encountered while validating a model for HIV disease progression among antiretroviral initiators.

Objective: To evaluate a model for predicting time to AIDS or death among HIV-infected persons initiating highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

Study Design And Setting: The model was constructed from 1,891 HAART initiators in the Collaborations in HIV Outcomes Research/US (CHORUS) cohort. The model's predictive ability was assessed using internal bootstrap validation techniques and data from 716 HAART initiators at Johns Hopkins HIV Clinical Cohort (JHHCC) in whom HIV disease was, in general, more advanced.

Increased detectability of plasma HIV-1 RNA after introduction of a new assay and altered specimen-processing procedures.

After changes to assay and specimen-processing methods, plasma human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA was frequently detectable in patients who previously had well-suppressed HIV-1 RNA levels. This artifact is attributable to shipping frozen plasma in primary plasma preparation tubes and is not caused by the HIV-1 RNA detection assay; it can be avoided by shipping plasma in a secondary tube.

Implementation and evaluation of a clinic-based behavioral intervention: positive steps for patients with HIV.

We conducted a demonstration project to design, implement, and evaluate a risk-reduction intervention delivered by medical providers to patients with HIV during routine care in 2005 and 2006. Medical providers at seven HIV clinics in the United States received training to deliver an intervention in which they screened patients for behavioral risks, gave targeted counseling, and delivered prevention messages. A longitudinal cohort (n = 767) of patients completed a baseline questionnaire and two follow-up questionnaires (6-month intervals) after the intervention was initiated.

Pregnancy and HIV disease progression during the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Background: Before the availability of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), there was no clear effect of pregnancy on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease progression. This has not been assessed during the HAART era.

Methods: We conducted an observational cohort study among HIV-infected women with >or=1 outpatient clinic visit between January 1997 and December 2004.