Determinants of long-term survival in late HIV presenters: The prospective PISCIS cohort study.

Background: Late HIV diagnosis (i.e CD4≤350 cells/µL) is associated with poorer outcomes. However, determinants of long-term mortality and factors influencing immune recovery within the first years after antiretroviral treatment (ART) initiation are poorly defined. Methods: From PISCIS cohort, we included all HIV-positive adults, two-year survivors after initiating ART between 2005-2019. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality according to the two-year CD4 count. We used Poisson regression. The secondary outcome was incomplete immune recovery (i.e., two-year CD4<500 cells/µL). We used logistic regression and propensity score matching. Findings: We included 2,719 participants (16593·1 person-years): 1441 (53%) late presenters (LP) and 1278 non-LP (1145 non-LP with two-year CD4 count >500 cells/µL, reference population). Overall, 113 patients (4·2%) died. Mortality was higher among LP with two-year CD4 count 200-500 cells/µL (aMRR 1·95[95%CI:1·06-3·61]) or <200 cells/µL (aMRR 4·59[2·25-9·37]).Conversely, no differences were observed in participants with two-year CD4 counts >500 cells/µL, regardless of being initially LP or non-LP (aMRR 1·05[0·50-2·21]). Mortality rates within each two-year CD4 strata were not affected by the initial CD4 count at ART initiation (test-interaction, p = 0·48). The stronger factor influencing immune recovery was the CD4 count at ART initiation. First-line integrase-inhibitor-(INSTI)-based regimens were associated with reduced mortality compared to other regimens (aMRR 0·54[0·31-0·93]) and reduced risk of incomplete immune recovery in LP (aOR 0·70[0·52-0·95]). Interpretation: Two-year immune recovery is a good early predictor of long-term mortality in LP after surviving the first high-risk 2 years. Nearly half experienced a favorable immune recovery with a life expectancy similar to non-LP. INSTI-based regimens were associated with higher rates of successful immune recovery and better survival compared to non-INSTI regimens. Funding: Southern-Denmark University, Danish AIDS-foundation, and Region of Southern Denmark.

Detection of Streptococcus pneumoniae antigen in pleural fluid: usefulness of an immunofluorescence-based lateral flow assay for the diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia.

The performance of an immunofluorescence-based Streptococcus pneumoniae antigen detection test in pleural fluid (IF-PF) was evaluated. For proven and possible pneumococcal pneumonias global sensitivity and specificity were 92.6 (95 CI 76.6-97.9) and 80 (95 CI 62.7-90.5), respectively, with no significant differences between children and adults. Global diagnostic accuracy of IF-PF was 86% (74.2-93.7), and a substantial k index of concordance with culture/RT-PCR of 0.716 (0.535-0.896). IF-PF might be useful as a rapid complementary test for the etiologic diagnosis of pneumococcal pneumonia.

Genital infections due to the human papillomavirus. / Infecciones genitales por el virus del papiloma humano.

The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a double-stranded DNA virus, with more than 200 different genotypes having been identified. This infection is considered the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI), and it is the cause of a significant number of diseases, both benign lesions (anogenital condylomas) and pre-malignant lesions and different cancers. The diagnosis of the infection is performed by molecular techniques based on the detection of viral DNA, the mRNA of oncogenic proteins and cellular alteration caused by the infection. Although there is no consensus regarding the best treatment, this should be individualised, and there are different options with ablative treatments being more effective but with greater recurrences, and immunomodulatory treatments being less effective in the short term but with fewer recurrences. Among the preventive strategies, vaccination against HPV is the best strategy against anogenital neoplasms and warts, its maximum effectiveness being when it is administered prior to exposure to HPV.

Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in HIV-infected patients with Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia.

INTRODUCTION: The incidence of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) in HIV-infected patients after an episode of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) seems to be lower than with other opportunistic infections. We conducted an observational study in order to determine the incidence, clinical characteristics and outcome of patients diagnosed with PJP-related IRIS. METHODS: We conducted an observational study of HIV patients diagnosed with PJP-related IRIS from January 2000 to November 2015. We analyzed epidemiological and clinical characteristics as well as laboratory findings. We also carried out a systematic review of published cases. RESULTS: Six cases of IRIS out of 123 (4.9%) HIV-infected patients with PJP who started ART were diagnosed. All six cases were men with a median age of 34 (IQR: 8) years. The six patients developed paradoxical IRIS. Subjects younger than 40 years old (p=0.084) and with an HIV-RNA viral load >100000 copies/ml (p=0.081) at diagnosis showed a tendency to develop IRIS. Thirty-seven published cases of PJP-related IRIS were identified. Although 51% of cases involved respiratory failure, no deaths were reported. CONCLUSIONS: PJP-related IRIS is rare condition compared to other opportunistic infections. It can lead to a severe respiratory failure in a significant proportion of cases, although no deaths have been reported.