Real-World Sustained Virologic Response Rates of Sofosbuvir-Containing Regimens in Patients Coinfected With Hepatitis C and HIV.

BACKGROUND: Patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) with or without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) achieve high sustained virological response (SVR) rates on sofosbuvir (SOF)-containing regimens in clinical trials. Real world data on patients coinfected with HCV and HIV treated with SOF-based regimens are lacking. METHODS: This observational cohort study included HIV/HCV-coinfected adults with genotype 1 HCV who initiated treatment with a SOF-containing regimen between December 2013 and December 2014 (n = 89) at the Mount Sinai Hospital or the Brooklyn Hospital Center. The primary outcome was SVR at 12 weeks after the end of treatment. The secondary outcomes were risk factors for treatment failure, serious adverse events, and side effects. A post hoc per protocol analysis of SVR was performed on patients who completed treatment and follow-up. RESULTS: In an intention-to-treat analysis, SVR rates were 76% (31/41) for simeprevir (SMV)/SOF, 94% (16/17) for SMV/SOF/ribavirin (RBV), and 52% (16/31) for SOF/RBV. The SVR rates of SMV/SOF/RBV and SMV/SOF did not differ significantly in this small study (P = .15). However the SVR rate of SMV/SOF/RBV was higher than that of SOF/RBV (P < .01). In a per protocol analysis, SMV/SOF/RBV had a higher SVR rate than SOF/RBV: 100% (16/16) vs 57% (16/28) (P < .01). The most commonly reported adverse effects were rash, pruritus, fatigue, and insomnia. One patient who had decompensated cirrhosis prior to treatment initiation died after receiving SMV/SOF. CONCLUSIONS: SMV/SOF ± RBV is an effective option with minimal adverse effects for most HIV-positive patients with genotype 1 HCV. SMV should be used with caution in patients with decompensated cirrhosis.

Severe ductopenia and cholestasis from levofloxacin drug-induced liver injury: a case report and review.

A 67-year-old woman with hypertension, hypothyroidism, and glaucoma was referred for jaundice and elevated liver function tests. She was treated for streptococcal endophthalmitis with 2 weeks of intravenous (IV) levofloxacin followed by 2 months of oral levofloxacin. The patient had no prior history of liver disease and denied alcohol intake. Her physical exam was remarkable for jaundice and scleral icterus without any stigmata of liver disease. Viral hepatitis serologies and antibodies, including myeloperoxidase, proteinase 3, and antinuclear, antimitochondrial, antiliver kidney microsome, antismooth muscle antibodies, were all within normal limits. The liver biopsy revealed severe cholestasis, extensive bile duct loss, and fibrosis. The patient had no known exposure to any other systemic medications or inciting factors other than levofloxacin. Although there are a few reported cases of drug-induced liver disease (DILI) related to levofloxacin, this case is believed to be the first reported case of ductopenia or vanishing bile duct syndrome (VBDS) associated with levofloxacin. Although fluoroquinolones, such as levofloxacin, are generally considered safe antibiotics, health practitioners must be aware of their association with DILI, as the diagnosis of DILI is one of exclusion and requires a high index of suspicion.

Metastatic adnexal cancer in a man.

Primary cutaneous adnexal neoplasms are mostly benign in nature; however, there have been reports of malignant adnexal tumors with distant metastasis to lymph nodes. Adnexal cutaneous malignancy with metastasis to the gastrointestinal tract has never been reported. Here, we present a rare case of a man with primary adnexal cutaneous adenocarcinoma who presented with symptomatic anemia secondary to occult gastrointestinal bleeding, found to be from gastrointestinal metastasis of the adnexal malignancy.

Pretreatment EEG in childhood absence epilepsy: associations with attention and treatment outcome.

OBJECTIVE: In children with newly diagnosed childhood absence epilepsy (CAE), determine pretreatment EEG features and their associations with baseline neuropsychological function and short-term treatment outcome. METHODS: In a multicenter, randomized clinical trial, patients with CAE underwent a pretreatment, 1-hour video-EEG and neuropsychological testing with freedom-from-failure and seizure-freedom (SF) outcome assessed at the 16- to 20-week visit. RESULTS: Detailed evaluation of the pretreatment EEG was possible for 99.8% of participants (445/446). Median time to first seizure was 6.0 minutes (range 0-59 minutes), median number of seizures was 5 (range 1-60), and median seizure duration was 10.8 seconds (range 3.3-77.6 seconds). Median duration of shortest seizure per EEG was 7.5 seconds (range 3.0-77.6 seconds). Seizure frequency was not associated with baseline measures of attention, executive function, or treatment outcome. Presence of a seizure lasting ≥20 seconds was noted in 29% of subjects (129/440); these children had higher median omissions T score on the Conners Continuous Performance Test (56.3 vs 51.6, p = 0.01). Patients with a shortest seizure of longer duration were more likely to demonstrate treatment success by both freedom-from-failure (p = 0.02) and SF (p = 0.005) criteria, even after controlling for age, treatment group, and number of seizures, with good predictive value (area under the curve 78% for SF). CONCLUSIONS: CAE is reliably and quickly confirmed by EEG. Occurrence of a seizure ≥20 seconds, but not overall seizure frequency, was associated with differential baseline measures of attention. Patients whose shortest pretreatment EEG seizure was longer in duration were more likely to achieve SF, regardless of treatment.