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Aims  Ciraparantag is a reversal agent for anticoagulants including direct oral anticoagulants. The aim was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ciraparantag to reverse anticoagulation induced by apixaban or rivaroxaban in healthy elderly adults. Methods and results  Two randomized, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging trials conducted in healthy subjects aged 50–75 years. Subjects received apixaban (Study 1) 10 mg orally twice daily for 3.5 days or rivaroxaban (Study 2) 20 mg orally once daily for 3 days. At steady-state anticoagulation subjects were randomized 3:1 to a single intravenous dose of ciraparantag (Study 1: 30, 60, or 120 mg; Study 2: 30, 60, 120, or 180 mg) or placebo. Efficacy was based on correction of the whole blood clotting time (WBCT) at multiple timepoints over 24 h. Subjects and technicians performing WBCT testing were blinded to treatment. Complete reversal of WBCT within 1 h post-dose and sustained through 5 h (apixaban) or 6 h (rivaroxaban) was dose related and observed with apixaban in 67%, 100%, 100%, and 17% of subjects receiving ciraparantag 30 mg, 60 mg, 120 mg, or placebo, respectively; and with rivaroxaban in 58%, 75%, 67%, 100%, and 13% of subjects receiving ciraparantag 30 mg, 60 mg, 120 mg, 180 mg, or placebo, respectively. Adverse events related to ciraparantag were mild, transient hot flashes or flushing. Conclusions  Ciraparantag provides a dose-related reversal of anticoagulation induced by steady-state dosing of apixaban or rivaroxaban. Sustained reversal was achieved with 60 mg ciraparantag for apixaban and 180 mg ciraparantag for rivaroxaban. All doses of ciraparantag were well tolerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections that are refractory or resistant (RR) to available antivirals ([val]ganciclovir, foscarnet, cidofovir) are associated with higher mortality in transplant patients. Maribavir is active against RR CMV strains. Methods Hematopoietic-cell or solid-organ transplant recipients ≥12 years old with RR CMV infections and plasma CMV deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) ≥1000 copies/mL were randomized (1:1:1) to twice-daily dose-blinded maribavir 400, 800, or 1200 mg for up to 24 weeks. The primary efficacy endpoint was the proportion of patients with confirmed undetectable plasma CMV DNA within 6 weeks of treatment. Safety analyses included the frequency and severity of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs). Results From July 2012 to December 2014, 120 patients were randomized and treated (40 per dose group): 80/120 (67%) patients achieved undetectable CMV DNA within 6 weeks of treatment (95% confidence interval, 57–75%), with rates of 70%, 63%, and 68%, respectively, for maribavir 400, 800, and 1200 mg twice daily. Recurrent on-treatment CMV infections occurred in 25 patients; 13 developed mutations conferring maribavir resistance. Maribavir was discontinued due to adverse events in 41/120 (34%) patients, and 17/41 discontinued due to CMV infections. During the study, 32 (27%) patients died, 4 due to CMV disease. Dysgeusia was the most common TEAE (78/120; 65%) and led to maribavir discontinuation in 1 patient. Absolute neutrophil counts <1000/µL were noted in 12/106 (11%) evaluable patients, with rates similar across doses. Conclusions Maribavir ≥400 mg twice daily was active against RR CMV infections in transplant recipients; no new safety signals were identified. Clinical Trials Registration NCT01611974. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experimental cytomegalovirus UL97 kinase inhibitor maribavir was used to treat 2 cases of infection in which viral mutations that conferred ganciclovir and foscarnet resistance had evolved sequentially. In one case, viral shedding was cleared without evidence of maribavir resistance in an isolate obtained after therapy. In the other case, a high-grade viremia was initially reduced 50-fold but rebounded 2 months later, coincident with the emergence of viral UL97 mutations T409M and H411Y, which confer maribavir resistance. The relatively rapid onset of maribavir resistance probably resulted from incomplete viral suppression in an immunosuppressed host with a high viral load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antepartum plasma hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA was quantified in 155 mothers coinfected with HCV and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), and HCV RNA was serially assessed in their infants. Of 155 singleton infants born to HCV antibody-positive mothers, 13 (8.4%) were HCV infected. The risk of HCV infection was 3.2-fold greater in HIV-1-infected infants compared with HIV-1-uninfected infants (17.1% of 41 vs. 5.4% of 112, P = .04). The median concentration of plasma HCV RNA was higher among the 13 mothers with HCV-infected infants (2.0 × 106 copies/mL) than among the 142 mothers with HCV-negative infants (3.5 × 105 copies/mL; P < .001), and there were no instances of HCV transmission from 40 mothers with HCV RNA concentrations of < 105 copies/mL. Women dually infected with HIV-1 and HCV but with little or no detectable HCV RNA should be reassured that the risk of perinatal transmission of HCV is exceedingly low. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As agencies develop guidelines for administering the newly developed hepatitis A virus (HAV) vaccine, information is needed regarding the occurrence of HAV infection in groups putatively at risk for the infection. We tested serum samples from 300 injection drug users (IDUs), 300 homosexual males, and 300 blood donors for the presence of total antibody to HAV (anti-HAV). Anti-HAV was detected in 66% of IDUs, 32% of homosexual males, and 14% of blood donors. Anti-HAV was not significantly associated (P > .10) with high-risk drug-using behaviors but was more prevalent among IDUs with annual incomes of <$5,000 (P = .018). The occurrence of anti-HAV increased among homosexual males as the number of sexual partners increased (P < .001) but was similar to the age-adjusted prevalence (30.6%) estimated for the general United States population. IDUs are at increased risk for HAV infection; however, our data suggest that factors related to low socioeconomic status contribute more to the occurrence of HAV infection among IDUs than does injection drug use. IDUs and persons at risk for injection drug use should receive HAV vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Describes a patient with HIV infection and cutaneous lesions due to Mycobacterium haemophilum who experienced a reaction to tetanus vaccine. Results of medical examinations; Emergence of skin lesions; Treatment of mycobacterial and HIV infections.