An ongoing dialogue on HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases,
March 10th, 2013
Really Rapid Review — CROI 2013, Atlanta
As noted previously by Carlos del Rio in his nice summary, the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) turned 20 this year. It also made it’s first-ever stop in Atlanta, home of many things that begin with “C” — CDC (note that insiders rarely say, “the CDC”), CNN, Coca Cola, and Carlos himself. I’ll […]
August 1st, 2012
Really Rapid Review — 2012 International AIDS Conference, Washington, DC
Last week’s International AIDS Conference in Washington got plenty of media attention, mostly because it was the first time in umpteen years that it was held in the United States, the delay between meetings due to our absurd (and now repealed) immigration laws regarding HIV. (Quick trivia question — where was the conference supposed to […]
March 15th, 2012
CROI 2012 Really Rapid Review — with CROI 2013 Dates!
Some highly subjective highlights — a Really Rapid Review™– from this year’s Number One Greatest Super Scientific HIV Conference, the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), which ended last week in Seattle: Need more evidence that maintaining a CD4 cell count > 500 is beneficial? This compelling analysis from the SMART and ESPRIT studies found […]
July 28th, 2011
Really Rapid Review — IAS 2011 Rome
Just back from IAS 2011 (which was followed, I’m thrilled to say, with a visit to perhaps the most beautiful region in the world). Here is a Really Rapid Review™ of the meeting, with apologies ahead of time for lack of organization and (even more likely) leaving out something important. FYI, the abstracts are online […]
March 8th, 2011
Really Rapid Review of CROI 2011 — and No CROI 2012 Dates
With CROI 2011 now officially over, I offer below the following Really Rapid Review™ for ID/HIV Specialists with limited time — or for those who said they went to the conference but spent the entire week shopping in the Prudential Mall and eating at Legal Seafood: Lots on PrEP. Bottom line — it works if you […]
July 19th, 2017
Mystifying Cochrane Library Review on HCV Therapy Elicits Strong Response from IDSA
Last month, the Cochrane Review published a controversial paper on HCV therapy that left many ID doctors and hepatologists perplexed. After reviewing 138 randomized clinical trials using directly acting, non-interferon based therapies, they came to the following conclusions: The use of sustained virologic response (“SVR”) — or “cure”, if you want to use plain English — […]
August 19th, 2024
More on Munich and the 25th Annual International AIDS Conference
Longtime readers may note the absence of this year’s Really Rapid Review™ (RRR) of the latest big HIV conference, the one that just happened in Munich. These RRR posts have been a regular on this site for a gazillion years, give or take a few, with a brief break during the peak of the pandemic. […]
June 8th, 2023
Fifteen Years Later, Why I’m Still Writing This
Seems like just yesterday that my wonderful editors at NEJM Journal Watch helped me write a piece marking this site’s 10-year anniversary. But no — that was 5 years ago. Yikes. Let’s see, what happened since the spring of 2018 that is relevant to this place: 216 posts. According to our crack research team, that’s […]
March 27th, 2023
Three Effective Treatments for COVID-19 Not in Treatment Guidelines — at Least Not Yet
A few weeks ago, in a patented (and copyrighted and trademarked) Really Rapid Review™, I summarized some of the Greatest Hits from CROI 2023. The conference included new data on not just HIV, but also a grab bag of opportunistic infections, STIs, viral hepatitis — and, as has been the case since 2020, COVID-19. You […]
October 31st, 2021
Interesting and Important Studies from IAS 2021 and IDWeek That Caught My Eye
As noted in my previous post, attending virtual meetings poses some serious challenges. The biggest obstacle: trying to do one’s regular job while periodically checking in (or more likely not checking in) on the meeting. And while I might have been able to pull off some Really Rapid Reviews© after a few virtual meetings, not […]
Paul E. Sax, MD
Associate Editor
NEJM Clinician
Biography | Disclosures & Summaries
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- Clusters of Concern — Spatial Link between Childhood Undervaccination and Measles Outbreaks in South Carolina May 20, 2026