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The article discusses a study which investigated the quality-adjusted life-expectancy effects of treated and untreated hearing loss among U.S. adults. Topics discussed include lifetime probability of hearing loss, lifetime probability of hearing aids, and changes in undiscounted quality-adjusted life expectancy.

Introduction: As access to effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) has improved globally, tobacco‐related illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, cancer and chronic respiratory conditions, account for a growing proportion of deaths among people with HIV (PWH). We estimated the impact of tobacco smoking and smoking cessation on life expectancy among PWH in South Africa. Methods: In a microsimulation model, we simulated 18 cohorts of PWH with virologic suppression, each homogenous by sex, initial age (35y/45y/55y) and smoking status (current/former/never). Input parameters were from data sources published between 2008 and 2022. We used South African data to estimate age‐stratified mortality hazard ratios: 1.2−2.3 (females)/1.1−1.9 (males) for people with current versus never smoking status; and 1.0−1.3 (females)/1.0−1.5 (males) for people with former versus never smoking status, depending on age at cessation. We assumed smoking status remains unchanged during the simulation; people who formerly smoked quit at model start. Simulated PWH face a monthly probability of disengagement from care and virologic non‐suppression. In sensitivity analysis, we varied smoking‐associated and HIV‐associated mortality risks. Additionally, we estimated the total life‐years gained if a proportion of all virologically suppressed PWH stopped smoking. Results: Forty‐five‐year‐old females/males with HIV with virologic suppression who smoke lose 5.3/3.7 life‐years compared to PWH who never smoke. Smoking cessation at age 45y adds 3.4/2.4 life‐years. Simulated PWH who continue smoking lose more life‐years from smoking than from HIV (females, 5.3 vs. 3.0 life‐years; males, 3.7 vs. 2.6 life‐years). The impact of smoking and smoking cessation increase as smoking‐associated mortality risks increase and HIV‐associated mortality risks, including disengagement from care, decrease. Model results are most sensitive to the smoking‐associated mortality hazard ratio; varying this parameter results in 1.0−5.1 life‐years gained from cessation at age 45y. If 10−25% of virologically suppressed PWH aged 30−59y in South Africa stopped smoking now, 190,000−460,000 life‐years would be gained. Conclusions: Among virologically suppressed PWH in South Africa, tobacco smoking decreases life expectancy more than HIV. Integrating tobacco cessation interventions into HIV care, as endorsed by the World Health Organization, could substantially improve life expectancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The HIV and hepatitis B virus (HBV) epidemics are interconnected with shared routes of transmission and specific antiviral drugs that are effective against both viruses. Nearly, 300 million people around the world live with chronic HBV, many of whom are from priority populations who could benefit from HIV prevention services. Oral pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV has implications in the prevention and treatment of HBV infection, but many people at increased risk of HIV acquisition may instead prefer long‐acting formulations of PrEP, which are currently not active against HBV. Discussion: People at increased risk for HIV acquisition may also be at risk for or already be living with HBV infection. Oral PrEP with tenofovir is effective in preventing both HIV and HBV, and tenofovir is also the recommended treatment for chronic HBV infection. Although implementation of oral PrEP has been challenging in sub‐Saharan Africa, investments in its scale‐up could secondarily reduce the clinical impact of HBV. Long‐acting PrEP, including injectable medicines and implantable rings, may overcome some of the implementation challenges associated with oral PrEP, such as daily pill burden, adherence challenges and stigma; however, current formulations of long‐acting PrEP do not have activity against HBV replication. Ideally, PrEP programmes would offer both oral and long‐acting formulations with HBV screening to optimize HIV prevention services and HBV prevention and care, when appropriate. People who are not immune to HBV would benefit from being vaccinated against HBV before initiating long‐acting PrEP. People who remain non‐immune to HBV despite vaccination may benefit from being offered oral, tenofovir‐based PrEP given its potential for HBV PrEP. People using PrEP and living with HBV who are not linked to dedicated HBV care would also benefit from laboratory monitoring at PrEP sites to ensure safety when using and after stopping tenofovir. PrEP programmes are ideal venues to offer HBV screening, HBV vaccination for people who are non‐immune and treatment with tenofovir‐based PrEP for people with indications for HBV therapy. Conclusions: Long‐acting PrEP holds promise for reducing HIV incidence, but its implications for the HBV epidemic, particularly in sub‐Saharan Africa, should not be overlooked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Fixed and tailored rituximab retreatment strategies to maintain remission in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)–associated vasculitis (AAV) are associated with tradeoffs. The current study was undertaken to develop a simulation model (AAV‐Sim) to project clinical outcomes with these strategies. Methods: We developed the AAV‐Sim, a microsimulation model of clinical events among individuals with AAV initiating treatment to maintain remission. Individuals transition between health states of remission or relapse and are at risk for severe infection, end‐stage renal disease, or death. We estimated transition rates from published literature, stratified by individual‐level characteristics. We performed validation using the mean average percent error (MAPE) and the coefficient of variation of root mean square error (CV‐RMSE). In internal validation, we compared model‐projected outcomes over 28 months with outcomes observed in the Rituximab versus Azathioprine in ANCA‐Associated Vasculitis 2 (MAINRITSAN2) trial, which compared fixed versus tailored retreatment. In external validation, we compared outcomes with fixed rituximab retreatment from the AAV‐Sim to outcomes from the MAINRITSAN1 trial and an observational study. Results: The AAV‐Sim projected outcomes similar to those in the MAINRITSAN2 trial, including minor (AAV‐Sim 6.0% fixed versus 7.3% tailored; MAINRITSAN2 6.2% versus 8.6%; MAPE 3% and 15%) and major relapse (AAV‐Sim 3.5% versus 5.5%; MAINRITSAN2 3.7% versus 7.4%; MAPE 5% and 26%), severe infection (AAV‐Sim 19.4% versus 11.1%; MAINRITSAN2 19.8% versus 10.2%; MAPE 2% and 9%), and relapse‐free survival (AAV‐Sim 84.8% versus 82.3%; MAINRITSAN2 86% versus 84%; CV‐RMSE 2.3% and 2.5%). Similar performance was observed in external validation. Conclusion: The AAV‐Sim projected a range of clinical outcomes for different treatment approaches that were validated against published data. The AAV‐Sim has the potential to inform management guidelines and research priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is unknown how past and active hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection affect immunorecovery and mortality in people with HIV who initiate tenofovir‐based antiretroviral therapy (ART). Using data collected between 2008 and 2015, we studied people with HIV in sub‐Saharan Africa initiating immediate ART in the Temprano randomized control trial. We classified participants into HBV groups at ART initiation: hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)‐positive with HBV DNA ≥ 2,000 IU/ml; HBsAg‐positive with HBV DNA < 2,000 IU/ml; isolated HBcAb‐positive; resolved infection (HBsAb‐positive/HBcAb‐positive); and HBV non‐immune/vaccinated (HBcAb‐negative). We compared square‐root CD4‐cell count increases using mixed‐effect, non‐linear regression adjusted for age, sex, baseline CD4 cell count, and HIV RNA. We compared all‐cause mortality using Bayesian parametric survival regression. Among 879 participants, 24 (2.7%) had HBsAg with high HBV DNA, 76 (8.6%) HBsAg with low HBV DNA, 325 (37.0%) isolated anti‐HBcAb, 226 (25.7%) resolved HBV infection and 228 (25.9%) HBV non‐immune/vaccinated. We found no significant difference in CD4 cell increases between HBV‐infection groups after adjustment (p = 0.16). Participants with HBsAg and high HBV DNA had the highest incidence of all‐cause mortality (1.9/100 person‐years, 95% Credibile Interval [CrI] = 1.0–3.4). By comparison, incidence rates of mortality were reduced by 57% (95%CrI = −79%, −13%), 60% (95%CrI = −82%, −12%) and 66% (95%CrI = −84%, −23%) in those who had isolated anti‐HBcAb‐positive, resolved HBV infection and HBV non‐immune/vaccinated, respectively. In conclusion, individuals with HIV and past HBV infection or isolated anti‐HBcAb‐positive serology, much like HBV non‐immune/vaccinated, experience lower mortality than those with HBsAg and high HBV DNA. Additional HBV‐related management would not be necessary for these individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyle EP, Shu B, Lindstrom S, Klimov A, Hancock K, Ferraro MJ, Traum AZ, Michelow IC. A severely immunocompromised child with uncomplicated oseltamivir-resistant 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza infection. Abstract: 2009 H1N1 pandemic influenza was associated with increased risk for severe disease in children and the immunosuppressed. We report a case of uncomplicated pneumonia because of infection with oseltamivir-resistant 2009 H1N1 virus in an immunosuppressed pediatric renal transplant patient. Innate immunity and/or altered viral fitness may be responsible for the mild clinical phenotype of the case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: People with HIV (PWH) are at increased risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD). Screening for CVD risk factors is recommended but not routine in South African HIV clinics. We sought to describe the prevalence of CVD risk factors among antiretroviral treatment (ART)‐experienced patients in South Africa. Methods: We performed a prospective, observational cross‐sectional study of PWH (>21 years, excluding pregnant women) on ART in South Africa. We interviewed patients regarding CVD risk factors, and obtained two blood pressure (BP) measurements and random/fasting glucose via a point‐of‐care glucometer. Standardized chart reviews provided individuals' HIV‐specific data. We defined hypertension as: self‐reported use of antihypertensives or mean systolic BP (SBP) ≥140 mmHg or diastolic BP (DBP) ≥90 mmHg (Stage 1) or SBP ≥160 mmHg or DBP ≥100 mmHg (Stage 2). We defined diabetes as self‐reported use of insulin/oral hypoglycaemics or fasting (random) glucose ≥7.0 (≥11.1) mmol. We obtained risk ratios (RR) for hypertension from a multivariable log‐binomial regression model, adjusting for age, sex and diabetes. Results: From March 2015 to February 2016, 458 participants enrolled with median age 38 years (interquartile range (IQR) 33 to 44 years) and median CD4 466/μL (IQR 317 to 638/μL); 78% were women. Participants were on ART for a median of four years, with 33% on ART ≥6 years. Almost a quarter (106/458) met the study definition for hypertension, of whom 45/106 (42%) were previously diagnosed, 23/45 (51%) were on medication and 4/23 (17%) were controlled. Eight participants had asymptomatic hypertensive urgency (BP≥180/110 mmHg). Of the 458 participants, 26 (6%) met the study definition for diabetes, half of whom (13/26) were already diagnosed; 11/13 (85%) were on treatment, of whom 4/11 (36%) had normal glucose. Age was the only significant predictor of hypertension (RR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.06, p < 0.0001) in the multivariable model. Conclusions: Hypertension and diabetes were prevalent among PWH prescribed ART in South Africa with less than half diagnosed, and still fewer treated and controlled. Hypertension was independently associated with age but not with HIV‐specific factors. Screening for and treatment of CVD risk factors could decrease future morbidity and mortality, especially as this population ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]