Comparing 7-Day Versus 6-8-Day Penicillin Treatment Intervals Among Pregnant People With Syphilis of Late or Unknown Duration: No Difference Found in Incidence of Congenital Syphilis.

Background: Guidelines recommend that pregnant patients with syphilis of late/unknown duration be treated with benzathine penicillin G, dosed as 3 weekly intramuscular injections (BPGx3) given ideally at strict 7-day intervals. Given limited pharmacokinetic data, it is unknown whether more flexible BPG treatment intervals might be effective in preventing congenital syphilis (CS). Methods: We used California surveillance data to identify birthing parent/infant dyads wherein the pregnant parent had syphilis of late/unknown duration between January 1, 2016 - June 30, 2019. We divided the dyads into 3 groups based on prenatal treatment: (1) BPGx3 at strict 7-day intervals, (2) BPGx3 at 6-8 day intervals, and (3) no/inadequate treatment. We then compared CS incidence among infants in each group. Results: We analyzed 1,092 parent/infant dyads: 607 (55.6%) in the 7-day treatment group, 70 (6.4%) in the 6-8 day treatment group, and 415 (38.0%) in the no/inadequate treatment group. The incidence proportion of infants meeting CS criteria in each group was, respectively, 5.6%, 5.7%, and 36.9%. Compared with BPGx3 at 7-day intervals, the odds of CS were 1.0 [95% CI 0.4-3.0] in the 6-8 day group and 9.8 [95% CI 6.6-14.7] in the no/inadequate treatment group. Conclusions: Prenatal BPGx3 at 6-8 days was no more likely to lead to CS in infants than 7-days. These findings hint that 6-8-day intervals might be adequate to prevent CS among pregnant people with syphilis of late/unknown duration. Consequently, it is possible that CS evaluation beyond an RPR at delivery may be unnecessary in asymptomatic infants whose parents received BPGx3 at 6-8 days.

Influenza Vaccination Uptake and Associated Factors Among Adults With and Without Human Immunodeficiency Virus in a Large, Integrated Healthcare System.

BACKGROUND: Influenza vaccination is recommended for adults regardless of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status. There may be facilitators or barriers to vaccinating people with HIV (PWH) that differ from people without HIV (PWoH). We sought to describe the uptake of influenza vaccination by HIV status and identify factors associated with vaccination. METHODS: We abstracted data from the electronic health records of PWH and PWoH in Kaiser Permanente Northern California during 6 influenza seasons (2013-2018). We determined vaccination uptake and used Poisson regression models to evaluate factors associated with vaccination in PWH and PWoH. RESULTS: 9272 PWH and 194 393 PWoH matched by age, sex, and race/ethnicity were included (mean age: 48 vs 49 years; men: 91% vs 90%; White race: 53% for both groups). PWH were more likely to receive the influenza vaccine (65-69% across years for PWH and 37-41% for PWoH) with an adjusted risk ratio for all years of 1.48 (95% CI: 1.46-1.50). For PWH, lower vaccination uptake was associated with several factors that suggested more complex health needs, such as lower CD4 cell counts, higher HIV viral loads, prior depression diagnoses, having Medicare insurance, and having a higher number of comorbidities. Associations with vaccination uptake were attenuated in PWH, compared with PWoH, for smoking, alcohol, and demographic factors. CONCLUSIONS: PWH had an almost 50% higher uptake of influenza vaccination than PWoH, possibly reflecting greater engagement with the healthcare system. We also found that PWH with more complex health needs had reduced vaccination uptake. Findings may inform outreach strategies to increase influenza vaccination in PWH.

Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation and Care Delivery for People With Newly Diagnosed HIV in an Integrated Healthcare System.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted health systems. For patients newly diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus, starting immediate antiretroviral therapy (ART) is recommended. For periods before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kaiser Permanente Northern California found similar rates of rapid ART initiation and time to viral suppression, concurrent with an increase in telemedicine.

Monocyte activation, HIV, and cognitive performance in East Africa.

Chronic inflammation associated with monocyte activation has been linked to HIV-related cognitive outcomes in resource-rich settings. Few studies have investigated this relationship in the African context where endemic non-HIV infections may modulate effects. We characterized immune activation biomarkers in Kenyan and Ugandan participants in relation to neuropsychological testing performance (NTP) from the African Cohort Study (AFRICOS). We focused on activation markers associated with monocytes (sCD14, sCD163, neopterin), T cells (HLA-DR+CD38+ on CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes), and microbial translocation (intestinal fatty acid-binding protein, I-FABP). The HIV-infected (n = 290) vs. HIV-uninfected (n = 104) groups were similar in age with mean (SD) of 41 (9.5) vs. 39 (9.9) years, respectively (p = 0.072). Among HIV-infected participants, the mean (SD) current CD4+ count was 402 (232); 217 (75%) were on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) and 199 (69%) had suppressed plasma HIV RNA. sCD14 was inversely correlated to NTP (r = - 0.14, p = 0.037) in models that included both HIV-infected and uninfected individuals, adjusted for HIV status and research site, whereas sCD163 was not (r = 0.041, p = 0.938). Neither of the T cell activation markers correlated with NTP. In the HIV-infected group, I-FABP was inversely associated with NTP (r = - 0.147, p = 0.049), even among those with suppressed plasma virus (r = - 0.0004, p = 0.025). Among the full group, HIV status did not appear to modulate the effects observed. In this cohort from East Africa, sCD14, but not sCD163, is associated with cognitive performance regardless of HIV status. Findings among both HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected groups is supportive that HIV and non-HIV-related inflammatory sources contribute to cognitive performance in this setting.

Monocyte Activation Is Associated With Worse Cognitive Performance in HIV-Infected Women With Virologic Suppression.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive impairment persists despite suppression of plasma human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) RNA. Monocyte-related immune activation is a likely mechanism. We examined immune activation and cognition in a cohort of HIV-infected and uninfected women from the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS). METHODS: Blood levels of activation markers, soluble CD163 (sCD163), soluble CD14 (sCD14), CRP, IL-6, and a gut microbial translocation marker (intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP)) were measured in 253 women (73% HIV-infected). Markers were compared to concurrent (within ± one semiannual visit) neuropsychological testing performance. RESULTS: Higher sCD163 levels were associated with worse overall performance and worse verbal learning, verbal memory, executive function, psychomotor speed, and fine motor skills (P < .05 for all comparisons). Higher sCD14 levels were associated with worse verbal learning, verbal memory, executive function, and psychomotor speed (P < .05 for all comparisons). Among women with virological suppression, sCD163 remained associated with overall performance, verbal memory, psychomotor speed, and fine motor skills, and sCD164 remained associated with executive function (P < .05 for all comparisons). CRP, IL-6, and I-FABP were not associated with worse cognitive performance. CONCLUSIONS: Monocyte activation was associated with worse cognitive performance, and associations persisted despite viral suppression. Persistent inflammatory mechanisms related to monocytes correlate to clinically pertinent brain outcomes.

Plasma angiopoietin-2 predicts the onset of acute lung injury in critically ill patients.

RATIONALE: Current clinical prediction scores for acute lung injury (ALI) have limited positive predictive value. No studies have evaluated predictive plasma biomarkers in a broad population of critically ill patients or as an adjunct to clinical prediction scores. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether plasma angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), von Willebrand factor (vWF), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and/or receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) predict ALI in critically ill patients. METHODS: Plasma samples were drawn from critically ill patients (n = 230) identified in the emergency department. Patients who had ALI at baseline or in the subsequent 6 hours were excluded, and the remaining patients were followed for development of ALI. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Nineteen patients developed ALI at least 6 hours after the sample draw. Higher levels of Ang-2 and IL-8 were significantly associated with increased development of ALI (P = 0.0008, 0.004, respectively). The association between Ang-2 and subsequent development of ALI was robust to adjustment for sepsis and vasopressor use. Ang-2 and the Lung Injury Prediction Score each independently discriminated well between those who developed ALI and those who did not (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.74 for each), and using the two together improved the area under the curve to 0.84 (vs. 0.74, P = 0.05). In contrast, plasma levels of sRAGE and vWF were not predictive of ALI. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma biomarkers such as Ang-2 can improve clinical prediction scores and identify patients at high risk for ALI. In addition, the early rise of Ang-2 emphasizes the importance of endothelial injury in the early pathogenesis of ALI.