Clinical presentation, management, and outcome of suspected central nervous system infections in Indonesia: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the etiology, clinical presentation, management, and outcome of central nervous system (CNS) infections in Indonesia, a country with a high burden of infectious diseases and a rising prevalence of HIV. METHODS: We included adult patients with suspected CNS infections at two referral hospitals in a prospective cohort between April 2019 and December 2021. Clinical, laboratory, and radiological assessments were standardized. We recorded initial and final diagnoses, treatments, and outcomes during 6 months of follow-up. RESULTS: Of 1051 patients screened, 793 were diagnosed with a CNS infection. Patients (median age 33 years, 62% male, 38% HIV-infected) presented a median of 14 days (IQR 7-30) after symptom onset, often with altered consciousness (63%), motor deficits (73%), and seizures (21%). Among HIV-uninfected patients, CNS tuberculosis (TB) was most common (60%), while viral (8%) and bacterial (4%) disease were uncommon. Among HIV-infected patients, cerebral toxoplasmosis (41%) was most common, followed by CNS TB (19%), neurosyphilis (15%), and cryptococcal meningitis (10%). A microbiologically confirmed diagnosis was achieved in 25% of cases, and initial diagnoses were revised in 46% of cases. In-hospital mortality was 30%, and at six months, 45% of patients had died, and 12% suffered from severe disability. Six-month mortality was associated with older age, HIV, and severe clinical, radiological and CSF markers at presentation. CONCLUSION: CNS infections in Indonesia are characterized by late presentation, severe disease, frequent HIV coinfection, low microbiological confirmation and high mortality. These findings highlight the need for earlier disease recognition, faster and more accurate diagnosis, and optimized treatment, coupled with wider efforts to improve the uptake of HIV services.

MPox Skin Lesions.

Mpox is caused by the Monkeypox virus, which belongs to the Orthopoxvirus genus and Poxviridae family. The Monkeypox virus was first identified as a cause of disease in humans in the 1970s in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mpox was considered endemic in several African countries. A global outbreak of Mpox was first recognized in Europe in May 2022 and was declared a public health emergency of international concern on July 23, 2022. The first reported Mpox case in Indonesia was in October 2022 which was identified as an imported case, there were no new confirmed Mpox cases until 13 October 2023. Since then there were 72 cases of confirmed Mpox cases in Indonesia by the end of 2023, distributed across 6 provinces, mostly in the Java island.We present two different spectrums of Mpox skin lesions in patients living with HIV, with a positive polymerase chain reaction test for Mpox. The first patient is a 48-year-old male, who developed a maculopapular lesion, that was initially noticed on the face, the lesions were then spread to the back and hand. He identifies as men who have sex with men and living with HIV for the past 18 years. There were no lesions on the genitalia or mucosa. The second patient is a 28-year-old male, the initial symptom was fever, followed by skin lesions after around 1 week of fever. The lesion initially appears as pustules on the face and then spreads throughout the whole body, the lesions also grow larger and become pseudo-pustules and ulcers. There were also mucosal involvements in the mouth, making oral intake difficult. This patient also identified as men who have sex with men with multiple partners, HIV status was not known at the initial presentation. HIV screening was done with positive results.

The Impact on Working Conditions and Income Amongst Internists in Indonesia: Lesson Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Internists are at the forefront of providing care for COVID-19 patients. This situation adds more strain on already overburdened internists, particularly in Indonesia, where resources are scarce and unevenly distributed. The pandemic altered working conditions due to restrictions and regulatory changes. Multiple evidence exists for the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on physicians' well-being, but less is known about its impact on their work dynamics and livelihoods. This study provides some lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding the changes in working conditions and earnings experienced by Indonesian internists. There were 3,115 and 1,772 participants in the first and second survey, respectively. After one year, the proportion of internists handling COVID-19 cases, including critical COVID-19 cases, increased; with fewer internists over 60 years old involved. Working hours, number of patients, and monthly earnings decreased for the majority of internists. The increased workload was experienced by most participants one year of the pandemic, predominantly reported by female internists. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a considerable impact on working conditions and income amongst internists in Indonesia. These findings may provide information to institutions in formulating strategies and tools to improve the working conditions and livelihoods of internists in Indonesia amidst the pandemic and potential public health emergencies in the future.

Incidence and Clearance of Anal Human Papillomavirus Infection in 16 164 Individuals, According to Human Immunodeficiency Virus Status, Sex, and Male Sexuality: An International Pooled Analysis of 34 Longitudinal Studies.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the natural history of anal high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) infection is key for designing anal cancer prevention programs but has not been systematically characterized. METHODS: We reanalyzed data from 34 studies including 16 164 individuals in 6 risk groups defined by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status, sex, and male sexuality: men who have sex with men (MSM) and people with HIV (MSMWH), HIV-negative MSM, women with HIV (WWH), HIV-negative women, men who have sex with women (MSW) with HIV (MSWWH), and HIV-negative MSW. We used Markov models to estimate incidence and clearance of 13 hrHPV types and their determinants. RESULTS: Human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 had the highest incidence-clearance ratio of the hrHPV types. MSMWH had the highest hrHPV incidence (eg, 15.5% newly HPV-16 infected within 2 years), followed by HIV-negative MSM (7.5%), WWH (6.6%), HIV-negative women (2.9%), MSWWH (1.7%), and HIV-negative MSW (0.7%). Determinants of HPV-16 incidence included HIV status and number of sexual partners for MSM, women, and MSW, and anal sex behavior for MSM only. HPV-16 clearance was lower for people with HIV (PWH) and lower for prevalent than incident infection. Among MSM, increasing age was associated with lower clearance of prevalent, but not incident, HPV-16 infection. CONCLUSIONS: This robust and unifying analysis of anal hrHPV natural history is essential to designing and predicting the impact of HPV vaccination and HPV-based screening programs on anal cancer prevention, particularly in MSM and PWH. Importantly, it demonstrates the higher carcinogenic potential of longstanding anal prevalent hrHPV infection than more recent incident infection.

Weight changes, metabolic syndrome and all-cause mortality among Asian adults living with HIV.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated weight changes following antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation, the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its association with all-cause mortality among Asian adults living with HIV. METHODS: Participants enrolled in a regional Asian HIV-infected cohort with weight and height measurements at ART initiation were eligible for inclusion in the analysis. Factors associated with weight changes and incident MetS (according to the International Diabetic Federation (IDF) definition) were analysed using linear mixed models and Cox regression, respectively. Competing-risk regression models were used to investigate the association of MetS with all-cause mortality. RESULTS: Among 4931 people living with HIV (PLWH), 66% were male. At ART initiation, the median age was 34 [interquartile range (IQR) 29-41] years, and the median (IQR) weight and body mass index (BMI) were 55 (48-63) kg and 20.5 (18.4-22.9) kg/m2 , respectively. At 1, 2 and 3 years of ART, overall mean (± standard deviation) weight gain was 2.2 (±5.3), 3.0 (±6.2) and 3.7 (±6.5) kg, respectively. Participants with baseline CD4 count ≤ 200 cells/µL [weight difference (diff) = 2.2 kg; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.9-2.5 kg] and baseline HIV RNA ≥ 100 000 HIV-1 RNA copies/mL (diff = 0.6 kg; 95% CI 0.2-1.0 kg), and those starting with integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI)-based ART (diff = 2.1 kg; 95% CI 0.7-3.5 kg vs. nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors) had greater weight gain. After exclusion of those with abnormal baseline levels of MetS components, 295/3503 had incident MetS [1.18 (95% CI 1.05-1.32)/100 person-years (PY)]. The mortality rate was 0.7 (95% CI 0.6-0.8)/100 PY. MetS was not significantly associated with all-cause mortality in the adjusted model (P = 0.236). CONCLUSIONS: Weight gain after ART initiation was significantly higher among those initiating ART with lower CD4 count, higher HIV RNA and an INSTI-based regimen after controlling for baseline BMI. Greater efforts to identify and manage MetS among PLWH are needed.

Factors associated with high alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and cirrhosis in people living with HIV on combination antiretroviral treatment (cART) in the Asia-Pacific.

Liver disease is a growing burden among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in resource-limited settings. As an indicator of liver disease, risk factors of high alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and cirrhosis were assessed among PLHIV in the TREAT Asia HIV Observational Database (TAHOD). Patients on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) with a pre-cART ALT measurement and at least one follow-up ALT measurement were included. Factors associated with high ALT (ALT levels > 5 times its upper limit of normal) were analyzed using repeated measure logistic regression over a 10-year follow-up period. Liver cirrhosis was defined as having an AST to Platelet Ratio Index score > 1.5, fibrosis-4 score > 3.25, or a clinical diagnosis of cirrhosis. Cox regression analysis stratified by site was used to analyze factors associated with cirrhosis among those in follow-up after 2015. Of 5182 patients, 101 patients (1.9%) had high ALT levels with hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody positive (odds ratio [OR]: 4.98, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.82-8.77, p < 0.001) and ever high alcohol consumption (OR: 2.33, 95% CI: 1.00-5.46, p = 0.050) as likely factors. Among 6318 PLHIV in the liver cirrhosis analysis, 151 (2%) developed cirrhosis (incidence rate = 0.82 per 100 person-years). Those HCV-antibody positive (hazard ratio [HR]: 5.54, 95% CI: 3.75-8.18, p < 0.001) and had high alcohol consumption (HR: 2.06, 95% CI: 1.23-3.45, p = 0.006) were associated with liver cirrhosis. HCV-antibody positive and high alcohol consumption are factors associated with high ALT. With raised ALT levels as a known factor associated with liver cirrhosis, greater efforts are required in managing ALT levels and reducing the risk of developing liver cirrhosis among those positive for HCV-antibody and those who consume alcohol.

Incidence and severity prediction score of COVID-19 in people living with HIV (SCOVHIV): experience from the first and second waves of the pandemic in Indonesia.

BACKGROUND: People living with HIV (PLHIV) have higher risk of COVID-19 infection and mortality due to COVID-19. Health professionals should be able to assess PLHIV who are more likely to develop severe COVID-19 and provide appropriate medical treatment. This study aimed to assess clinical factors associated with COVID-19 severity and developed a scoring system to predict severe COVID-19 infection among PLHIV. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study evaluated PLHIV at four hospitals diagnosed with COVID-19 during the first and second wave COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. The independent risk factors related to the severity of COVID-19 were identified with multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: 342 PLHIV were diagnosed with COVID-19, including 23 with severe-critical diseases. The cumulative incidence up to December 2021 was 0.083 (95% CI 0.074-0.092). Twenty-three patients developed severe-critical COVID-19, and the mortality rate was 3.2% (95% CI 1.61%-5.76%). Having any comorbidity, CD4 count of < 200 cells/mm3, not being on ART, and active opportunistic infection were independent risk factors for developing severe COVID-19. SCOVHIV score was formulated to predict severity, with 1 point for each item. A minimum score of 3 indicated a 58.4% probability of progressing to severe COVID-19. This scoring system had a good discrimination ability with the area under the curve (AUC) of 0.856 (95% CI 0.775-0.936). CONCLUSION: SCOVHIV score, a four-point scoring system, had good accuracy in predicting COVID-19 severity in PLHIV.

Incidence and predictors of nevirapine and efavirenz-associated rash among Indonesian HIV patients.

BACKGROUND: Many drugs used for the treatment of HIV disease can cause drug hypersensitivity reactions. Since 2002, World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the use of nevirapine and efavirenz as part of first line antiretroviral therapies for several years. Both of the drugs had equivalent clinical efficacy but differences in toxicity profile. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the incidence and predictors of nevirapine and efavirenz-associated rash among Indonesian HIV-infected patients. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted among Indonesian patients who were using nevirapine or efavirenz between January 2004 to December 2013. All eligible predictors were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: 2,071 patients received nevirapine and 1,212 received efavirenz as first line therapies. The cumulative incidence of nevirapine-associated rash was 14% (95%CI: 12.5-15.5%) and evafirenz-associated rash was 4.5% (95%CI: 3.4-5.8%). Severe reactions occurred 1% patients receiving NVP and 0.1% patients receiving EFV, but no patients died due to these conditions. Predictors independently related with nevirapine-associated rash were female gender (adjusted RR = 1.622; 95%CI: 1.196-2.199; p = 0.002), baseline absolute CD4 count above 200 cells/mm3 (adjusted RR = 1.387; 95%CI: 1.041-1.847; p = 0.025), and hepatitis C co-infection (adjusted RR = 1.507; 95%CI: 1.138-1.995; p = 0.004). Baseline ALT level > 1.25 times upper normal limit (adjusted RR = 1.508; 95%CI: 0.998-2.278; p = 0.051) had a tendency to be a good predictor. None of the risk factors investigated was associated with developing efavirenz-associated rash. CONCLUSION: Female, baseline absolute CD4 count above 200 cells/mm3, hepatitis C co-infection and baseline ALT levels more than 1.25 times upper normal limit were predictors for nevirapine-associated rash in HIV patients.

The Validity and Reliability of the Indonesian Version of the Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ) in Measuring Quality of Life in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: Liver cirrhosis remains the major cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality around the world. Cirrhosis also negatively affects health-related quality of life. Quality of life evaluation in cirrhosis treatment is often overlooked, despite its importance compared to traditional outcome. One of the specific tools to measure quality of life in cirrhosis patient is the Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ). Although this tool has been widely used in many countries, no studies have been conducted on its validity and reliability in the Indonesian language. This study aimed to assess the validity and reliability of the Indonesian version of CLDQ using appropriate methods. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study conducted at Hepatobiliary outpatient clinic in Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo National General Hospital (RSCM), from April-May 2021. The CLDQ was first translated into the Indonesian language and subsequent pretest was performed on 10 people, resulting in the final Indonesian version of the CLDQ. The final version was later tested in the main study with larger number of subjects (52 people). Validity was assessed using construct and external validity tests, while reliability was tested using internal consistency and test-retest methods. RESULTS: The Indonesian version of CLDQ had a good construct validity (r 0.613-0.917), moderate external validity (54.1%), strong correlations between CLDQ and SF-36, good internal consistency (Cronbach-Alpha ≥ 0.7), and good test-retest reliability (ICC > 0.7). CONCLUSION: The Indonesian version of CLDQ is valid and reliable in measuring the quality of life of liver cirrhosis patients in Indonesia.

The Use of Complementary Alternative Medicine in HIV-infected Patients during COVID-19 Pandemic: Its Related Factors and Drug Interactions with Antiretroviral Therapy.

BACKGROUND: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widespread among patients with chronic disease despite lack of supporting evidence for most CAM types. Concerned regarding higher risk of COVID-19 for HIV-infected patients, probably increase the use of CAM during COVID-19 pandemic in this population. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors related to CAM use among HIV-infected patients during COVID-19 pandemic, then identify drug- to-drug interaction (DDI) of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs with CAM that they used. METHODS: The study was conducted in HIV Clinic Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in September-October 2021, specifically targeting adults HIV-infected patients routinely using ARV. Demographic and clinical data, including COVID-19 and vaccine history, were taken from clinic survey and hospital medical records data. RESULTS: 554 of 1275 patients (43.5%) reported using any type of ingested CAM during COVID-19 pandemic, mostly vitamins and/or minerals. Factors related to CAM use were history of COVID-19 infection (aOR 2.28; 95% CI 1.65-3.14) and 2-5 years ARV duration compared to more than 10 years (aOR 1.4; 95% CI 1.02-1.91). Five known potential interactions involving 20 patients and two potential weak interactions involving 8 patients were found, but many of other interactions categorized as unknown. Only limited number of patients (3.8%) were aware about the drug interaction between ARV and CAM that they used. CONCLUSION: CAM was commonly used by HIV-infected patients on ARV during the COVID-19 pandemics, but patient awareness related to CAM-ARV drug interactions was exteremely low.

Prevalence and associated factors of depressive symptoms among people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy in Jakarta, Indonesia.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the prevalence of depressive symptoms among people living with HIV (PLHIV) on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in a large HIV treatment facility in Jakarta, Indonesia, and to assess associated factors. METHODS: The Indonesian version of Beck Depression Inventory-II was used to assess depressive symptoms of 346 participants visiting the HIV Integrated Clinic Cipto Mangunkusumo hospital between June and November 2018. RESULTS: Depressive symptoms (BDI-II score ≥14) were exhibited by 50.9% of participants, with prevalences of mild, moderate and severe depression of 30.4%, 15.6% and 4.9%, respectively. Poisson regression with robust variance analysis indicated that having lower income (aPR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.12-1.63), duration of ART for 1-5 years (aPR = 1.25, 95% CI 1.01-1.54) and same-sex partnership (aPR = 1.27, 95% CI 1.02-1.58) were positively associated with depressive symptoms. Age, sex and history of using intravenous drugs, and ART-based regimen were not associated with depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive symptoms were common among our population despite long-term ART use and were associated with having low-income, ART for 1-5 years and same-sex partnership.

Impact of sofosbuvir and daclastavir on health-related quality of life in patients co-infected with hepatitis C and human immunodeficiency virus.

BACKGROUND: We conducted a real-life study of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) transformation before and 12 weeks after sofosbuvir and daclatasvir therapy in HCV/HIV co-infected patients. Factors related to the significant changes of each HRQoL domain/item were also evaluated. METHODS: A prospective study was performed in the HIV integrated clinic at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta. HCV/HIV co-infected patients who started sofosbuvir and daclatasvir from government free DAA program in 2017-2019. WHOQoL-HIV BREF and RAND SF-36 questionnaires were recorded at baseline and post-treatment week 12. RESULTS: 145 patients with mean age of 37.8 years (SD = 4.2) were included in the analysis. Most of patients were male (89%), previous IVDU (89%), active smoker (50.4%) and non-cirrhosis (80%). SVR12 was achieved in 95.5% of patients. Sofosbuvir and daclatasvir treatments showed positive impacts on 2 domains and 2 other items of WHOQoL-HIV BREF and 2 domains and 1 item of SF-36. Predicting factors of significant increase in each domain/item were: male and normal body mass index (BMI) for level of independence (RR 4.01,95% CI 1.09-14.74 and 4.80,95% CI 1.79-12.81); higher HCV-RNA for overall perception of QoL (RR 0.42,95% CI 0.18-0.94); non-smoking status for overall perception of health (RR 0.32,95% CI 0.15-0.66); male and fibrosis stage 0-1 for general health (RR 6.21,95% CI 1.69-22.88 and 2.86,95% CI 1.16-7.00); and the use of NNRTI-based ART (RR 5.23, 95% CI 1.16-23.65). Spiritual/personal belief decline was predicted by non-smoking status (RR 0.46, 95% CI 0.23-0.95). Treatment success was not associated with any changes of HR-QoL domain/item. CONCLUSIONS: HCV/HIV co-infected patients were successfully treated with sofosbuvir and daclatasvir and experienced improvement of HRQoL 12 weeks after treatment completion.

Cytomegalovirus may influence vascular endothelial health in Indonesian HIV-infected patients after 5 years on ART.

OBJECTIVES: Accelerated atherosclerosis in older HIV-infected patients has been attributed to persistent immune activation and high burden cytomegalovirus (CMV), as demonstrated in transplant recipients and the general population. Here we assess CMV and inflammatory markers linked with vascular health in young adult patients treated in Indonesia. STUDY DESIGN: HIV-infected adults (n = 32) were examined when they began antiretroviral therapy (ART) with < 200 CD4 T-cells/µl (V0) and after 60 months (V60). Age-matched healthy controls (HC, n = 32) were assessed once. METHODS: Flow Mediated Dilatation (FMD) was assessed by ultrasound on brachial arteries at V60 and in HC. Plasma markers of immune activation and endothelial activation, and CMV antibodies (lysate, gB, IE-1) were assessed in all samples. Results were assessed using bivariate (non-parametric) and multivariable analyses. RESULTS: Levels of inflammatory biomarkers and CMV antibodies declined on ART, but the antibodies remained higher than in HC. FMD values were similar in patients and HC at V60. In HIV patients, levels of CMV lysate antibody correlated inversely (r = - 0.37) with FMD. The optimal model predicting lower FMD values (adjusted R2 = 0.214, p = 0.012) included CMV lysate antibodies and chondroitin sulphate. In HC, levels of sTNFR correlated inversely with FMD (r = - 0.41) and remained as a risk factor in the optimal multivariable model, with CMV glycoprotein-B (gB) antibody predicting a healthier FMD (adjusted R2 = 0.248, p = 0.013). CONCLUSIONS: Higher levels CMV antibodies optimally predict vascular health measured by FMD in HIV patients. However in healthy controls, sTNFR marks risk and CMV gB antibody may be protective.

Prioritizing Health Care Workers Safety: The International Year of Health and Care Workers 2021.

Healthcare workers pose a substantial risk of acquiring COVID-19 infection during their daily works. We have seen various conditions during the pandemic, such as limited adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), accurate diagnostic tests, lack of information regarding disease management, unsupportive work environment, and excessive workload, increased the number of HCWs-infected COVID-19. Compared to the general population, the risk of COVID-19 infection was several-fold higher in HCWs.Employers and health care workers both should share the responsibility to prevent occupationally acquired infections and avoid causing harm to patients by taking reasonable precautions to prevent vaccine-preventable disease transmission.This year, WHO has launched a year-long campaign under the theme -protect, invest, together'. It highlights the urgent need to invest in health care workers, not only during COVID-19. We need to ensure that all health care workers are supported, protected, motivated, and equipped to deliver safe health care at all times, to provide a high-quality standard of care to the patients.

COVID Arm After Moderna Booster in Healthcare Worker: A Case Report.

SARS CoV-2 virus has infected more than 200 million people worldwide and more than 4.4 million in Indonesia. The vaccination program has become one of the solutions launched by many countries globally, including Indonesia, to reduce the transmission rate of COVID-19. Various vaccination platforms are produced, such as inactivated, viral vector, mRNA, and protein subunit. The vaccination booster program with mRNA platform (Moderna) was launched by the Indonesian government to give better protection for health care workers, particularly from delta variant. In this case report, we discuss one of the typical side effects of Moderna vaccine, which is referred to as the COVID arm.

Clinical Evaluation of HIV/AIDS Patients on Antiretroviral Therapy using HIV Symptoms Index: A reliability and Applicability Evaluation using Indonesian Language.

BACKGROUND: HIV/AIDS is a chronic, lifelong disease with a wide clinical spectrum which could decrease the quality of life. Objective symptoms measurement is important because it is correlated to treatment adherence and progressivity of the disease. Currently, there is no clinical tool available to evaluate symptoms of HIV infection and the treatment's side effect for the outpatient setting. This study aimed is to assess the reliability of the Indonesian version of HIV Symptom Index for measuring symptoms of HIV/AIDS patients, and use it for assessment of their symptom profile. METHODS: this is a cross sectional study in outpatient HIV/AIDS subjects (n=87) recruited in Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital's HIV clinic from September-November 2018. The HIV Symptom Index consisted of 20 items evaluating somatic, psychologic, and the combination of both symptoms, and its' language adaptation to Indonesian was done with Beaton and Guillemin method. Reliability of the Indonesian version of HIV Symptom Index was tested by alpha cronbach's a coefficient analysis, and the internal validity was tested with multitrait scaling analysis before being used to profile the symptom pattern of HIV/AIDS patients. RESULTS: Indonesian version of HIV Symptom Index is reliable (cronbach alpha 0.76) and valid (multitrait correlation >0.4) for measuring symptoms of HIV/AIDS patients. The most common symptom is fatigue (55.7%), followed by insomnia (43.3%), dizziness and lightheadedness (42.3%), skin problems (42.3%), and pain, numbness, or tingling in the hands or feet (39.2%). CONCLUSION: Indonesian version of HIV symptom Index is reliable and valid to measure symptoms of HIV/AIDS patiens objectively.

Prognostic Scoring System for Mortality of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients in Resource-Limited Settings: A Multicenter Study from COVID-19 Referral Hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Many studies identified the risk factors and prognostic factors related to in-hospital COVID-19 mortality using sophisticated laboratory tests. Cost and the availability of supporting blood tests may be problematic in resource-limited settings. This multicenter cohort study was conducted to assess the factors associated with mortality of COVID-19 patients aged 18 years and older, based on history taking, physical examination, and simple blood tests to be used in resource-limited settings. METHODS: The study was conducted between July 2020 and January 2021 in five COVID-19 referral hospitals in Indonesia. Among 1048 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 160 (15%) died during hospitalization. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis showed eight predictors of in-hospital mortality, namely increased age, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, fatigue, dyspnea, altered mental status, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) ≥ 5.8, and severe-critical condition. This scoring system had an Area-under-the-curve (AUC) of 84.7%. With cut-off score of 6, the sensitivity was 76.3% and the specificity was 78.2%. CONCLUSION: The result of this practical prognostic scoring system may be a guide to decision making of physicians and help in the education of family members related to the possible outcome.

Talaromyces atroroseus in HIV and non-HIV patient: A first report from Indonesia.

We performed morphology, molecular study and antifungal susceptibility test on 10 Talaromyces sp. isolates: eight clinical isolates (human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and non-HIV-patient) and two isolates from rats. All strains produced red soluble pigment and microscopically showed Penicillium-like structure in room temperature and yeast-like structure in 37°C. Based on molecular analysis, nine isolates were identified as Talaromyces atroroseus (including the isolates from rats) and one as T. marneffei. Our susceptibility result of T. marneffei supports the use of amphotericin B, itraconazole for talaromycosis marneffei management. Talaromyces atroroseus showed variable MIC to echinocandin, azole derivatives, 5-flucytosine and amphotericin B.

Diagnostic performance of APRI and FIB-4 for confirming cirrhosis in Indonesian HIV/HCV co-infected patients.

BACKGROUND: After successful of antiretroviral therapy, highly effective direct acting antiviral (DAA) make HCV elimination reasonable in HIV/HCV co-infected patients. However, in achieving this target, there are still barriers to start DAA treatment, particularly in the area of liver fibrosis assessment that determine the duration of therapy. We aimed to assess the diagnostic performance of APRI and FIB-4 for diagnosing cirrhosis in HIV/HCV co-infected patients using hepatic transient elastography (TE) as gold standard. METHOD: This is a retrospective study on HIV/HCV co-infected patients who concomitantly performed hepatic TE measurement, APRI, and FIB-4 evaluation before HCV treatment initiation at a tertiary hospital in Jakarta from 2014 to 2019. Sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of indirect biomarkers for liver stiffness measurement (LSM) ≥ 12.5 kPa was determined by receiver operator characteristics curves. RESULTS: 223 HIV/HCV co-infected patients on stable antiretroviral therapy were included, of whom 91.5% were male with mean age of 37 (SD 5) years. Only 28.7% of patients were classified as cirrhosis (F4). Using TE as gold standard (≥12.5 kPa), the low threshold of APRI (1) had specificity 95%, sensitivity 48.4%, correctly classified 81.6% of patients, with moderate performance, AUC at 0.72 (95% CI 0.63-0.80). The optimal cut-off of FIB-4 was 1.66 [specificity 92.5%, sensitivity 53.1%, AUC at 0.73 (95% CI 0.65-0.81)] and correctly classified 81.1% of the patients. CONCLUSION: APRI score ≥ 1 and FIB-4 score ≥ 1.66 had moderate performance with high specificity in diagnosing cirrhosis. These biochemical markers could be used while TE is not available.

HIV and stigma in the healthcare setting.

People living with HIV (PLHIV) continue to endure stigma and discrimination in the context of health care despite global improvements in health outcomes. HIV stigma persists within healthcare settings, including dental settings, manifesting itself in myriad, intersecting ways, and has been shown to be damaging in the healthcare setting. Stigmatising practices may include excessive personal protective equipment, delaying the provision of care or unnecessary referral of PLHIV to specialist services in order to access care. The workshop entitled "HIV and Stigma in the Healthcare Setting" provided an overview of the concept and manifestation of HIV stigma and explored the disproportionate burden it places on groups that face additional disadvantages in accessing care. The final part of the workshop concluded with a review of institutional and community-based interventions that worked to reduce HIV stigma and group discussion of the ways in which these strategies might be adapted to the dental workforce.