Prevalence and Clinical Characteristics of Mycobacterial Diseases in the Barletta-Andria-Trani Province, Italy (2005-2013).

Tuberculosis remains one of the major worldwide problems regarding public health. This study evaluates the burden of this disease in the BAT Province of the Apulia region (Italy); 12,295 patients were studied, including 310 immigrants. Tubercular disease and mycobacteriosis were found in 129 patients. The number of new TB cases/year ranged from three in 2005 to 12 in 2009. TB was more frequently localized in the lung (70.5%). 14.4% of cases were institutionalized patients for severe neurological and/or psychiatric disease. The database evidenced certain aspects of our study population: the large number of TB patients institutionalized between natives, but no larger presence of TB among HIV-positive patients in immigrants compared to Italians. Our findings should help to redefine the alarm regarding the spread of an epidemical form of TB but also to present certain criticisms regarding patient management (especially immigrants) regarding costs, hospitalization, and difficulty of reinstating the patient in the community. Further our data underscore the importance of prevalence of TB in bedridden, institutionalized patients.

Cardiovascular risk factors in patients on long-term treatment with nevirapine- or efavirenz-based regimens.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the cardiovascular risk among patients treated for more than 5 years with regimens based on nevirapine or efavirenz. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 276 patients were retrospectively evaluated, 156 of whom were treated with nevirapine and 120 with efavirenz, by examining traditional risk factors and detecting the presence of subclinical carotid lesions with colour-Doppler ultrasonography. RESULTS: When comparing the data at baseline and follow-up in the nevirapine group, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) and triglycerides showed a significant decrease, while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol increased. Ultrasound data, obtained in a subgroup of 67 patients, did not show significant changes for those treated with nevirapine. In the efavirenz group, total cholesterol, LDLc, triglycerides, glycaemia, body mass index and the number of patients with a pathological ultrasound significantly increased. When comparing the two groups at baseline and follow-up, nevirapine patients had significantly higher values of total cholesterol, LDLc and triglycerides at baseline, while total cholesterol and LDLc differed non-significantly at follow-up; triglycerides became significantly lower in the nevirapine arm with respect to the efavirenz group. Glycaemia was comparable between the two groups at baseline, while it was significantly lower in the nevirapine group at follow-up. The number of pathological ultrasound findings was significantly higher in the efavirenz group at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Patients treated with nevirapine demonstrated a better lipid and glucose profile and a lower tendency to develop subclinical atherosclerotic lesions.