Antiretroviral treatment switch strategies for lowering the costs of antiretroviral therapy in subjects with suppressed HIV-1 viremia in Spain.

Background: The current economic recession in European countries has forced governments to design emergency measures to reduce spending on drugs, including antiretroviral therapy (ART). Switching antiretroviral drugs for others that have the same efficacy and safety profile at a lower cost (cost-reduction measures, CRM) could prove to be a valid means of generating savings.

Methods: Descriptive study of prospective consensus-based CRM undertaken in 2011 in a Catalonian hospital HIV unit among patients with prolonged plasma HIV-1 RNA <50 copies/mL.

SureClick® (Darbepoetin alfa) can improve perceived satisfaction and competence for anemia treatment and increase self-administration in non-dialyzed patients with chronic kidney disease.

Background And Aims: SureClick® is a prefilled pen for administration of darbepoetin alfa (DA) that is ready-to-use. We explored patient satisfaction with SureClick® compared with prefilled syringes (PFS).

Methods: Multicenter, prospective, 6-months, observational study in non-dialyzed patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) treated with DA in PFS who switched to SureClick® at baseline.

[Use of herbal remedies among HIV-infected patients: patterns and correlates].

Background And Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and patterns of use of herbal remedies among HIV-infected patients, and to identify potential health risks and correlates associated with the use of these products.

Patients And Methods: Cross-sectional survey including 1000 HIV-infected outpatients in Barcelona. Participants completed a questionnaire on the use of herbal remedies and other types of complementary treatments within the previous year as well as on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.

Risk levels for suffering a traffic injury in primary health care. The LESIONAT project.

Background: Literature shows that not only are traffic injuries due to accidents, but that there is also a correlation between different chronic conditions, the consumption of certain types of drugs, the intake of psychoactive substances and the self perception of risk (Health Belief Model) and the impact/incidence of traffic accidents. There are few studies on these aspects in primary health care. THE OBJECTIVES of our study are: Main aim: To outline the distribution of risk factors associated with Road Traffic Injuries (RTI) in a driving population assigned to a group of primary health care centres in Barcelona province.

A meta-analysis of the relative doses of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents in patients undergoing dialysis.

Background. Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) such as epoetin alfa and beta, and darbepoetin alfa have improved the management of anaemia secondary to chronic kidney disease. Numerous studies have reported a dose reduction when patients receiving dialysis were converted from epoetin to darbepoetin alfa using the starting dose conversion of 200:1 as indicated on the prescribing label by the European Medicines Agency.