Factors associated with reactogenicity to an investigational HIV vaccine regimen in HIV vaccine trials network 702.

Background: Reactogenicity informs vaccine safety, and may influence vaccine uptake. We evaluated factors associated with reactogenicity in HVTN 702, a typical HIV vaccine efficacy trial with multiple doses and products.

Methods: HVTN 702, a phase 2b/3 double-blind placebo-controlled trial, randomized 5404 African participants aged 18-35 years without HIV to placebo, or ALVAC-HIV (vCP2438) at months 0, 1 and ALVAC-HIV (vCP2438) + Bivalent Subtype C gp120/MF59 at months 3, 6, 12 and 18.

The Efficiency of TB LAM Antigen Test to Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra Test for the Diagnosis of Tuberculous Pericarditis Using Pericardial Fluid Samples.

Medical considerations for early diagnosis of tuberculous pericarditis (TBP) include Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra and TB lipoarabinomannan (LAM) antigen (Ag) tests, with immunological status influencing the performance of the latter. An evaluation of the efficiency of Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra and TB LAM Ag in detecting TBP was conducted using pericardial fluid samples from 46 patients with suspected TBP. Fifteen patients (34.

Analysis of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network 702 Phase 2b-3 HIV-1 Vaccine Trial in South Africa Assessing RV144 Antibody and T-Cell Correlates of HIV-1 Acquisition Risk.

Background: The ALVAC/gp120 + MF59 vaccines in the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) 702 efficacy trial did not prevent human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) acquisition. Vaccine-matched immunological endpoints that were correlates of HIV-1 acquisition risk in RV144 were measured in HVTN 702 and evaluated as correlates of HIV-1 acquisition.

Methods: Among 1893 HVTN 702 female vaccinees, 60 HIV-1-seropositive cases and 60 matched seronegative noncases were sampled.

Vaccine Efficacy of ALVAC-HIV and Bivalent Subtype C gp120-MF59 in Adults.

Background: A safe, effective vaccine is essential to eradicating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. A canarypox-protein HIV vaccine regimen (ALVAC-HIV plus AIDSVAX B/E) showed modest efficacy in reducing infection in Thailand. An analogous regimen using HIV-1 subtype C virus showed potent humoral and cellular responses in a phase 1-2a trial in South Africa.

Case Report: Neuroleptic malignant syndrome in a HIV-positive patient.

We report a 29-year-old, HIV-positive woman being treated with antipsychotic medication for psychosis (Clopixol 200mg intramuscularly monthly, Risperidone 2mg orally daily Haloperidol 2.5mg twice a day), who presented with neuroleptic malignant syndrome. She was also receiving lorazepam and sodium valproate.

Association of Kidney Function and Waist Circumference with Uric Acid Levels in South Africans.

Background: Recent evidence that hyperuricemia is associated with incident chronic kidney disease (CKD) provides a potential therapeutic target for CKD that has not been explored in Africans. With hyperuricemia and gout increasing globally, we sought to determine their prevalence in South Africans with varying kidney function levels.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of ambulatory adult patients presenting at a General Internal Medicine Outpatients Clinic between September 2012 and March 2014.

Spectrum of infections and outcome among hospitalized South Africans with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Our aim was to determine reasons for admission, the prevalence and spectrum of infections, and the outcomes in a multiethnic cohort of hospitalized systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients in Durban, South Africa. We reviewed the records of hospitalized SLE patients seen over a 79-month period; the demographic data, clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, reasons for admission, nature of infection, and outcome were recorded. Our 167 patients, comprising 59.

Concomitant systemic lupus erythematosus and HIV: case series and literature review.

Objectives: To determine the effect of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on the course of each other and to review the published reports on concomitant SLE and HIV infection.

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of the records of patients with SLE and HIV seen in the Department of Rheumatology at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, Durban, South Africa. We used the terms "systemic lupus erythematosus" and "HIV" or "AIDS" to identify patients with SLE and HIV infection reported in the English medical literature.

Predictive performance of eGFR equations in South Africans of African and Indian ancestry compared with ⁹⁹mTc-DTPA imaging.

Background: South African guidelines for early detection and management of chronic kidney disease (CKD) recommend using the Cockcroft-Gault (CG) or Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equations for calculating estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with the correction factor, 1.212, included for MDRD-eGFR in black patients. We compared eGFR against technetium-99m-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid ((99m)Tc-DTPA) imaging.