An ongoing dialogue on HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases,
June 4th, 2011
HIV Epidemiology and Something Even Many Smart Medical Students Don’t Know
Periodically I like to give an informal quiz to the medical students about HIV epidemiology. It’s a multiple choice question that goes something like this: Based on the recent epidemiology of HIV in the United States, in what group are new cases of HIV infection rising the fastest? Men who have sex with men (MSM) […]
May 26th, 2011
Surprise! It’s Generic Combivir!
After last week’s unveiling of the new NNRTI rilpivirine, now we have a different kind of drug approval from the FDA: FDA granted approval for a generic formulation fixed dose combination of lamivudine and zidovudine tablets, 150 mg/300 mg, two nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors, indicated in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment […]
May 18th, 2011
HIV Exceptionalism and the Department of Unintended Consequences
Quick question: If there were one piece of information — clinical or lab — that you would use to determine the quality of care in an HIV program, what would it be? (Choose one.) Rates of influenza vaccine administration Receiving PCP prophylaxis with CD4 < 200 Adherence counseling before starting antiretroviral therapy Baseline toxoplasmosis serology Proportion […]
April 11th, 2011
Organ Transplants from HIV-Infected Donors
On the heels of last month’s report of HIV transmission from an organ donor — covered here in Journal Watch — comes this remarkable article in the New York Times about lifting the ban on organ donation from donors known to be HIV positive. Naturally, the first group of patients slated to receive these HIV […]
March 18th, 2011
Friday Fosfomycins
Today’s ID/HIV comments and links are named after every ID specialist’s favorite new toy for UTIs. This HIV transmission from a kidney donor is getting quite a bit of media play, as such complications always do. I was at a meeting this AM when one of my colleagues (an endocrinologist) commented how horrible she thought […]
March 1st, 2011
Like It or Not, PrEP Enters the Clinic
Since the publication of iPrEx, the hypothetical decision about whether to prescribe pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has become a practical reality. As a result, we’ve posted a case on the Journal Watch/AIDS Clinical Care site, describing someone who requests intermittent pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV. It’s a high-risk, HIV-negative man who’s been treated several times with post-exposure prophylaxis. […]
February 14th, 2011
Pspring Training Pseudomonads
A few ID/HIV issues to ponder as we welcome back the most important sport in the universe: Interesting new Guidelines on UTIs from IDSA — especially their recommendations not to use fluoroquinolones for uncomplicated cystitis and to promote nitrofurantoin for 5 days to first-line for this indication. And welcome to fosfomycin — though this could eliminate […]
February 3rd, 2011
Disparities in HIV Diagnoses, and Interpreting CDC-ese
In anticipation of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (February 7), the CDC has issued a new report on the disparities in HIV diagnoses in the United States. During 2005–2008, blacks/African Americans accounted for 13.6% of the population in the 37 states and 50.3% of the 156,812 diagnoses of HIV infection during that period … HIV […]
January 28th, 2011
Wow, That Was Fast: PrEP Guidelines Appear
With the ink barely dry on iPrEx — still tricky to type — along come “interim” guidelines from the CDC on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Based on the results [iPrEx], CDC and other U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) agencies have begun to develop PHS guidelines on the use of PrEP for MSM at high risk for […]
December 9th, 2010
Chronic Lyme Tough to Diagnose, Tough to Treat
Over at the Chicago Tribune, there is this superb review of the Chronic Lyme disease issue. Lyme disease is real. The bacterial infection, chiefly transmitted by deer ticks, can cause rashes, swollen joints and inflamed nerves, and usually is curable with a round of antibiotics. But doctors around the country are telling patients with common […]
Paul E. Sax, MD
Associate Editor
NEJM Clinician
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