Prevalence of Polypharmacy and Potential Drug-Drug Interactions Associated with Risk Factors in the Era of HIV Integrase Inhibitors: A Prospective Clinical Study.

People living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH), with the availability of modern antiretroviral drugs, have multiple comorbidities, which increase the risk of polypharmacy and potential drug-drug interactions (PDDIs). This is a particularly important issue for the aging population of PLWH. This study aims to review the prevalence and risk factors for PDDIs and polypharmacy in the era of HIV integrase inhibitors. A cross-sectional, two-center, prospective observational study was conducted on Turkish outpatients between October 2021 and April 2022. Polypharmacy was defined as the use of ≥5 non-HIV medications, excluding over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, and PDDIs were classified using the University of Liverpool HIV Drug Interaction Database (harmful/red flagged and potentially clinically relevant/amber flagged). The median age of the 502 PLWH included in the study was 42 ± 12.4 years and 86.1% were males. Most individuals (96.4%) were given integrase-based regimens (unboosted 68.7% and boosted 27.7%). In total, 30.7% of individuals were taking at least one OTC drug. The prevalence of polypharmacy was 6.8% (9.2% when OTC drugs were included). During the study period, the prevalence of PDDIs was 1.2% for red flag PDDIs and 16% for amber flag PDDIs. CD4+ T cell count >500 cells/mm3, number of comorbidities ≥3, comedication with drugs affecting blood and blood-forming organs, cardiovascular drugs, and vitamin/mineral supplements were associated with red flag or amber flag PDDIs. Drug interaction prevention is still important in HIV care. Individuals with multiple comorbidities should be closely monitored for non-HIV medications to prevent PDDIs.

Effect of initial antifungal therapy on mortality among patients with bloodstream infections with different Candida species and resistance to antifungal agents: A multicentre observational study by the Turkish Fungal Infections Study Group.

This study aimed to describe the effect of initial antifungal therapy on patient mortality and to detail the current distribution and resistance patterns of Candida spp. among patients with candidaemia. A prospective observational study was performed among consecutive patients with candidaemia from 10 Turkish medical centres between January 2015 and November 2018. The primary outcome was 10-day mortality. Species were identified using MALDI-TOF/MS. A total of 342 patients with candidaemia were included, of which 175 (51.2%) were male and 68 (19.9%) were aged <18 years. The most common species were Candida albicans (47.4%), Candida parapsilosis (26.6%), Candida tropicalis (9.6%) and Candida glabrata (7.6%). Among all Candida spp., the 10-day case fatality rate (CFR) was 32.2%. The CFR was highest in patients with C. albicans (57.3%) and lowest in patients with C. parapsilosis (21.8%). The resistance rate to fluconazole was 13% in C. parapsilosis, with no significant effect on mortality. No resistance to echinocandins was detected. In the multivariate analysis, being in the ICU [OR = 2.1 (95% CI 1.32-3.57); P = 0.002], renal failure [OR = 2.4 (1.41-3.97); P = 0.001], total parenteral nutrition [OR = 2 (1.22-3.47); P = 0.006], C. albicans infection [OR = 1.7 (1.06-2.82); P = 0.027] and echinocandin as primary agent [OR = 0.6 (0.36-0.99); P = 0.047] were significantly associated with mortality. Candidaemia is a deadly infection. Fluconazole resistance is emerging, although it was not significantly related to mortality. Using an echinocandin as the primary agent could be life-saving.