[Isolated nocturnal hypertension in individuals with human immunodeficiency virus]. / Hipertensión nocturna aislada en individuos con el virus de la inmunodeficiencia humana.

INTRODUCTION: Isolated nocturnal hypertension is associated with a greater number of cardiovascular events and target organ damage due to arterial hypertension. It has been observed that patients in the general population with this entity do not have high blood pressure figures in the office; and it is necessary to perform an outpatient measurement to unmask it. The prevalence in special populations is not fully described. The objective of the following study is to describe the prevalence of isolated nocturnal hypertension in a population living with the human immunodeficiency virus and to observe its relationship with the categories of office blood pressure and the phenotypes of the 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure measurement. METHODOLOGY: A retrospective cohort was carried out in a population with human immunodeficiency virus in a public hospital in Spain, clinical epidemiological characteristics, office blood pressure measurements and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure measurement (ABPM) were recorded. An analysis was performed based on the different ABPM blood pressure phenotypes, as well as based on the different office blood pressure categories, the risks for isolated nocturnal hypertension were calculated. RESULTS: One hundred and sixteen individuals, without antihypertensive medication or history of established cardiovascular disease, were included in the analysis. A prevalence of nocturnal hypertension of 23.3% was described. It was not possible to demonstrate significant differences between phenotypes by ABPM of any variable specific to HIV. There were no adjusted risk differences between the different categories of office normotensives. CONCLUSIONS: Isolated nocturnal hypertension is more frequent in patients with HIV and office blood pressure values in normotensive patients are not sufficient to predict isolated nocturnal hypertension.

Impact of the implementation of a Sepsis Code Program in medical patient management: a cohort study in an Internal Medicine ward.

OBJECTIVE: Sepsis is the main cause of death in hospitals and the implementation of diagnosis and treatment bundles has shown to improve its evolution. However, there is a lack of evidence about patients attended in conventional units. METHODS: A 3-year retrospective cohort study was conducted. Patients hospitalized in Internal Medicine units with sepsis were included and assigned to two cohorts according to Sepsis Code (SC) activation (group A) or not (B). Baseline and evolution variables were collected. RESULTS: A total of 653 patients were included. In 296 cases SC was activated. Mean age was 81.43 years, median Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) was 2 and 63.25% showed some functional disability. More bundles were completed in group A: blood cultures 95.2% vs 72.5% (p <0.001), extended spectrum antibiotics 59.1% vs 41.4% (p < 0.001), fluid resuscitation 96.62% vs 80.95% (p < 0.001). Infection control at 72 hours was quite higher in group A (81.42% vs 55.18%, odds ratio 3.55 [2.48-5.09]). Antibiotic was optimized more frequently in group A (60.77% vs 47.03%, p 0.008). Mean in-hospital stay was 10.63 days (11.44 vs 8.53 days, p < 0.001). Complications during hospitalization appeared in 51.76% of patients, especially in group B (45.95% vs 56.58%, odds ratio 1.53 [1.12-2.09]). Hospital readmissions were higher in group A (40% vs 24.76%, p < 0.001). 28-day mortality was significantly lower in group A (20.95% vs 42.86%, odds ratio 0.33 [0.23-0.47]). CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of SC seems to be effective in improving short-term outcomes in IM patients, although therapy should be tailored in an individual basis.

Efficacy of and risk of bleeding during pegylated interferon plus ribavirin treatment in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients with pretreatment thrombocytopenia.

The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of and the risk of major bleeding during pegylated interferon (peg-IFN)/ribavirin (RBV) treatment among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/hepatitis C virus (HCV)-coinfected patients according to the pretreatment platelet count. Two hundred and seventy-four HCV/HIV-coinfected, previously naïve individuals with compensated cirrhosis enrolled in one Spanish prospective cohort who received peg-IFN/RBV were included in this study. The frequency of severe bleeding and sustained virological response (SVR) rate were compared between patients with a pretreatment platelet count ≤70,000/mm(3) and >70,000/mm(3), respectively. Sixty-one (22 %) patients had a baseline platelet count ≤70,000/mm(3). The median (Q1-Q3) pretreatment platelet count was 58,000 (49,000-65,000) cells/mm(3) in the platelet ≤70,000 group and 129,000 (102,500-166,000) cells/mm(3) in the platelet >70,000 group (p < 0.0001). Seventeen (28 %) subjects of the platelet ≤70,000 group and 71 (33 %) patients of the platelet >70,000 group achieved SVR (p = 0.4). Only 2 (3.2 %) patients in the platelet ≤70,000 group developed a severe hemorrhagic event, specifically esophageal variceal bleeding. The efficacy of therapy with peg-IFN/RBV in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients with low pretreatment platelet counts is comparable to that found in the overall subset of subjects with compensated cirrhosis. The frequency of severe hemorrhagic events related with this therapy is low in this population.

Insulin resistance is associated with liver stiffness in HIV/HCV co-infected patients.

BACKGROUND: The factors that influence liver fibrosis progression in patients co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus/hepatitis C virus (HIV/HCV) are not completely understood. It is not known if insulin resistance (IR), a condition that promotes liver fibrosis in HCV mono-infected individuals, is one of these factors. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between IR and liver stiffness (LS). DESIGN: Multicentre cross-sectional study. PATIENTS: 330 patients co-infected with HIV/HCV. METHODS: LS was assessed by transient elastography, which has shown a high accuracy to predict significant fibrosis in patients co-infected with HIV/HCV. The outcome variable of the study was LS. Patients with LS> or =9 kPa were considered as having significant fibrosis. IR was calculated using the HOMA method. RESULTS: LS was > or =9 kPa in 150 (45%) patients. HOMA correlated with LS (Spearman's rho correlation coefficient, 0.37; p<0.0001). The median (Q1-Q3) HOMA in patients with LS> or =9 kPa was 3.30 (2.17-5.16) while it was 2.09 (1.37-3.22) in patients with LS <9 kPa (p<0.0001). Ninety-six (39%) individuals with a HOMA <4 and 54 (63%) with a HOMA > or =4 showed LS> or =9 kPa (p<0.0001). Analyses after excluding patients with cirrhosis yielded similar results. After multivariate analyses, age > or =40 years (adjusted odds ratio (AOR), 1.85; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.03 to 3.29; p = 0.03), CD4 cell count <200 cells/ml (AOR, 3.45; 95% CI, 1.67 to 7.11; p = 0.001), hepatitis B virus co-infection (AOR, 9.25; 95% CI, 2.42 to 35.31; p = 0.001), and HOMA > or =4 (AOR, 5.33; 95% CI, 2.70 to 10.49; p<0.0001) were the independent predictors of LS> or =9 kPa. CONCLUSION: IR is associated with LS in patients co-infected with HIV/HCV.

[Prevalence of hepatitis C virus among HIV-infected patients in Area 2 of Madrid]. / Prevalencia de hepatitis C en población infectada por el VIH en el Area 2 de Madrid.

INTRODUCTION: The evolution of HIV infection, a rapid and fatal illness not long time ago, has become a chronic disease due to the implementation of new antiretroviral treatment. Therefore it is essential to focus on the management of concurrent illnesses such as chronic hepatitis C infection, specially as they share common routes of transmission. METHODS: A cross sectional survey was done to determine the prevalence of HIV and HCV coinfection, measuring different HIV and HCV variables among 651 HIV infected patients of a health area in Madrid. RESULTS: 500 patients (76.8%) were male and 151 female (23%). HCV serology was performed in all the patients and resulted positive in 45.7% (298) most of them drug users (84.8%). The CD4 cell count was lower in patients HIV-HCV coinfected compared to those HCV negative (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study shows a high prevalence of HIV-HCV coinfection, mainly due to parenteral transmission. We emphasize the low percentage of coinfected patients treated with interferon and ribavirine which probably will increase in the future.

[Treatment with interferon and ribavirin of chronic hepatitis C in HIV-infected patients]. / Tratamiento con interferón y ribavirina de la hepatitis crónica por virus C en pacientes con infección por VIH.

BACKGROUND: The rapid progression of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in HIV-infected patients is now the most important cause of morbidity, mortality and hospital admissions. In order to avoid this evolution, the treatment of CHC is a major challenge in these patients. PATIENTS AND METHOD: The aim of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of treatment of CHC in HIV-infected patients with subcutaneous IFN (3 MU 3 times a week) plus Ribavirin (RBV) administered per 200 mg dosage depending on their body weight, for 24 weeks for genotype 2 or 3 and 48 weeks for genotype 1 or 4. All the patients have a CD4 count over 150 cells/microl and HIV viral load < 50,000 copies/ml, with or without antiretroviral treatment. We defined sustained response as RNA-VHC below level of detection 24 weeks after the end of treatment. RESULTS: We included 28 patients in the study, with median age of 36.6 y.o. 82% of the patients were on antiretroviral treatment, with AZT in 60% of them. Genotype distribution was HCV-1 in 50%, HCV-3 in 35.7%, HCV-4 in 10.7% and HCV-2 in 3%. Liver biopsy was performed in all the patients. Adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation occurred in 5 patients (17.8%). The overall sustained response rate in the intent-to-treat analysis was 25.8% (50% for genotype 3 and 14% for genotype 1). CONCLUSION: This therapy provides cure in a rate significantly lower than that seen in HCV-monoinfected individuals, with a similar safety. The modern formulations of IFN (pegylated) will provide new expectatives in this group of patients.

[Tuberculous peripheral multifocal choroiditis]. / Coroiditis multifocal periférica tuberculosa.

CASE REPORT: A healthy 57 year-old woman with past untreated pulmonary tuberculosis, disclosed a bilateral uveitic syndrome characte rized by iritis, vitreitis, multiple peripheral retinal punched-out lesions, and cystoid macular edema. Systemic evaluation was unremarkable except for a 30 mm tuberculin skin test. Relapses occurred after oral and periocular corticosteroids were interrupted, but the inflammation completely disappeared after a 6 month course of isoniazid, rifampicin and pyrazinamide. DISCUSSION: Intraocular tuberculosis should be considered as a treatable cause of peripheral multifocal choroiditis, after ruling out other etiologies.

[Liver disease in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection. Study of 100 biopsies]. / Affección hepática en pacientes con infección por el virus de la immunodeficiencia humana. Estudio de cien biopsias.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related liver disease is frequently diagnosed. We report a study about 100 liver biopsy samples (LB) in patients with HIV infection. The aim of the study has been to analyze the liver biopsy yield when a systemic disease (group A) or a chronic liver disease (group B) are suspected. Tuberculosis, all of them disseminated, was the most common finding in group A biopsy samples, and a 81% yield was obtained. Chronic active hepatitis was the most common finding group B, and profitability reached 90%. We conclude that LB is the elective method to diagnose systemic disease, in patients previously selected according to their clinical findings, and that final diagnoses and safe.

[Inadequate ADH secretion syndrome associated with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome]. / Síndrome de secreción inadecuada de ADH asociado a síndrome de inmunodeficiencia adquirida.

Within the numerous complications of AIDS, we want to point out the appearance of inadequate ADH secretion syndrome (IADHSS) in 9 out of; patients, which constitutes a higher percentage than in the general population. In all cases IADHSS was associated to lung or central nervous system pathology. In one patient, IADHSS preceded the appearance Pneumocystis carinii pneumonitis. Therefore, if hyponatremia is founding AIDS patients, the existence of adrenal pathology or IADHSS should be suspected.