A baseline epidemiological study of the co-infection of enteric protozoans with human immunodeficiency virus among men who have sex with men from Northeast China.

BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and enteric parasite co-infection not only aggravates the clinical symptoms of parasites but also accelerates acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) progression. However, co-infection research on men who have sex with men (MSM), the predominant high-risk population of HIV/AIDS in China, is still limited. In this study, we investigated the epidemiology of enteric parasites, risk factors, and associations with clinical significance in an MSM HIV/AIDS population in Heilongjiang Province, northeast China. METHODS: We recruited 308 MSMs HIV/AIDS patients and 199 HIV-negative individuals in two designated AIDS hospitals in Heilongjiang between April 2016 and July 2017. Fresh stool samples were collected. DNA extraction, molecular identification, and genotyping of Cryptosporidium species, Entamoeba histolytica, Cyclospora cayetanensis, Enterocytozoon bieneusi, and Blastocystis hominis were performed. Fourteen diarrhea-related pathogens were examined to exclude the influence of other bacterial pathogens on diarrhea incidence. RESULTS: 31.5% of MSM HIV/AIDS participants were infected with at least one parasite species, a significantly higher proportion than that found in the HIV-negative individuals (2.5%). E. bieneusi presented the highest prevalence, followed by B. hominis, E. histolytica, Cryptosporidium spp., and C. cayetanensis. Warm seasons were the risk factor for parasitic infections in this population [odds ratio (OR) = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.47-4.57]. In addition, these individuals showed a higher proportion (35.8%) of present diarrhea (PD) compared with men who have sex with women (MSW) with HIV/AIDS (16.7%). The infection proportions of both Cryptosporidium spp. and E. histolytica were significantly higher in the PD. E. bieneusi infection was more prevalent in the historic diarrhea (HD) group. CD4+ T cell counts in the MSM patients with the above three parasites were significantly lower. New species and genotypes were found, and MSM patients had a wider range of species or genotypes. CONCLUSIONS: Enteric parasitic infection was prevalent in the MSM HIV/AIDS population, especially in patients with present diarrhea during warm seasons. E. histolytica and B. hominis should also be considered high-risk parasites for opportunistic infections in AIDS patients in addition to Cryptosporidium spp.

Does short preoperative statin therapy prevent infectious complications in adults undergoing cardiac or non-cardiac surgery? A meta-analysis of 5 randomized placebo-controlled trials.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of preoperative statin therapy on the incidence of postoperative infection.  METHODS: This systematic review of the literature was carried out in August 2015. Studies were retrieved via PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library (1980 to 2015), and the reference files were limited to English-language articles. We used a standardized protocol, and a meta-analysis was performed for data abstraction.  RESULTS: Five studies comprising 1,362 patients qualified for the analysis. The incidence of postoperative infections in the statin group (1.1%) was not significantly lower than that in the placebo group (2.4%), with a risk ratio (RR) of 0.56 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.24-1.33, p=0.19). Patients of 3 studies underwent cardiac surgery. The aggregated results of these studies failed to show significant differences in postoperative infection when a fixed effects model was used (RR: 0.39; 95% CI: 0.08-1.97, p=0.26].   CONCLUSIONS: We failed to find sufficient evidence to support the association between statin use and postoperative infectious complications. The absence of any evidence for a beneficial effect in available randomized trials reduces the likelihood of a causal effect as reported in observational studies.