An ongoing dialogue on HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases,
January 2nd, 2014
A New Year’s Snowstorm ID Link-o-Rama
Some ID/HIV items jangling around in the inbox, just dying to get out, before they are covered in snow: Interesting, balanced piece in the New York Times about the slow uptake for PrEP, in particular among gay men. This caught my eye: “Certainly, fewer people have tried PrEP than many experts had anticipated.” I wonder […]
December 24th, 2013
Brush with Greatness: John G. Bartlett
At the IDSA meeting in 2012, John Bartlett gave a lecture called, “Infectious Diseases Update for the HIV Provider” — what a great title — which was, as usual, information-packed, practical, well-referenced, and just plain fun. It also occurred to me at the time that there is probably no other person on the planet who […]
December 8th, 2013
Simeprevir and (Especially) Sofosbuvir Are Great Leaps Forward — and They Will Cost Plenty
Hepatitis C has been potentially curable for decades, but it’s hardly been easy. “I feel like I’m slowly killing myself,” said one of my patients, memorably, during week 24 of a planned bazillion-week course of interferon-ribavirin. (Actually it was only 48 weeks, but seemed like a bazillion weeks.) Then in 2011 came the addition of […]
November 23rd, 2013
OB/GYN Board Says Their Docs May Only Treat Women
Here’s a surprising move: The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology has decreed that gynecologists may only treat women. From the New York Times coverage: In September, the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology insisted that its members treat only women, with few exceptions, and identified the procedure [high-resolution anoscopy] in which Dr. Stier has expertise […]
November 6th, 2013
SINGLE Study Underscores Waning of the Efavirenz Era — But Probably Just in the USA
In today’s New England Journal of Medicine, the SINGLE study finally makes its appearance “in print.” (The study results were first presented over a year ago.) The highlights: SINGLE was a double-blind, randomized clinical trial comparing abacavir/lamivudine plus dolutegravir to tenofovir/FTC/efavirenz in 833 treatment-naive study subjects. That’s right, three different drugs in each arm — […]
October 30th, 2013
HIV Treatment of Serodiscordant Couples: The Home Run, Slam Dunk, and Open Goal in Clinical Research
Just in time for Game 6 of the World Series, my colleague Rochelle Walensky has published a paper in theNew England Journal of Medicine (covered here in NEJM Journal Watch). evaluating the cost-effectiveness of treating HIV-infected individuals in serodiscordant couples. The results: In South Africa, early ART was cost-saving over a 5-year period. In both South Africa and […]
October 25th, 2013
GARDEL Two-Active-Drug Study Not a Game-Changer, but Might Be a Paradigm-Shifter
Don’t look now, but a two-drug lamivudine (3TC) + LPV/r strategy did just as well as a standard three-drug regimen of two NRTIs + LPV/r. Better, actually, since virologic outcomes were the same and the two-drug regimen had fewer side effects. Here are the key details about the GARDEL study, presented just this week by […]
October 14th, 2013
MODERN Study Stopped: An NRTI-Sparing, Two-Drug Initial Regimen Disappoints Again
In case you didn’t know, “MODERN” is the clever name for the “Maraviroc Once-daily with Darunavir Enhanced by Ritonavir in a New regimen” trial, which compared TDF/FTC to maraviroc, both with boosted darunavir. And once again, the NRTI-sparing two-drug regimen comes up short, this time in a fully powered, double-blind noninferiority study. From a PDF […]
October 7th, 2013
CD4 Cell Count at Presentation: A Figure with a Depressingly Small Upward Slope
You know how to make an ID/HIV specialist angry? Frustrated? Sigh loudly? Tell a clinical anecdote that involves “late” presentation of HIV diagnosis, in particular someone who has been seeking medical care for various ailments for months or even years without getting tested. You know — it goes something like this: “He was seen 3 […]
September 27th, 2013
Yes! An Economic Justification for ID Specialists
We’re currently in the middle of fellowship interview season, and I overheard the following conversation between two of my colleagues as they contemplated their upcoming interviewees: ID Doctor #1: He seems like a great candidate — wants to study hospital and community epidemiology of highly drug-resistant bacterial infections, and has already made major contributions to […]
Paul E. Sax, MD
Associate Editor
NEJM Clinician
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FROM NEJM — Recent Infectious Disease Articles- Interactive Perspective: Measles December 18, 2025This Double Take video reviews evidence-based recommendations on measles prevention and management and explores commonly asked questions about the measles virus and infection.
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