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Background: Various recent outbreaks of hepatitis A virus (HAV) have been described in men who have sex with men despite the availability of an effective vaccine. This study aimed to determine the current rates of seroconversion after receiving HAV vaccine (HAV-V) in HIV-infected patients under real-life conditions., Setting: Patients were selected from a Southern Spanish multicentric cohort of HIV-infected subjects., Methods: Retrospective analysis of all patients who received 2 doses (standard scheme) from April 2008 to May 2016 or from June 2016 to February 2018 facing an HAV outbreak with shortage of HAV-V, 1 single dose of HAV-V. Response to HAV-V was defined as positive anti-HAV IgG between 1 and 12 months after the last vaccination dose., Results: A total of 522 patients were included, mainly men who have sex with men (86.2%). In the standard-dose group, 303/343 [88.3%; 95% confidence interval (CI): 84.5 to 91.5] patients showed seroconversion as compared with 149/179 (83.2%; 95% CI: 76.9 to 88.4) of the single-dose group (P = 0.107). Undetectable baseline HIV-RNA (adjusted odds ratio: 4.86; 95% CI: 1.86 to 12.75; P = 0.001) and a CD4 T-cell count ≥350/μL (adjusted odds ratio, 3.96; 95% CI: 1.26 to 12.49; P = 0.019) were independently associated with response to both regimens. A higher CD4/CD8 ratio was also associated with response after a single dose., Conclusions: HIV-infected patients should be encouraged to undergo HAV-V with 2 standard doses 6 months apart; a single dose achieves a high rate of seroconversion in those patients with favorable response factors and may be enough to limit future outbreaks in case of HAV-V shortage until supply is reestablished.

Background: To study the durability of the drugs and coformulations currently used in the first treatment regimen of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV patients, and to examine the reasons for changing this medication., Methods: A retrospective observational multicenter study of patients with HIV infection who started a first-line ART regimen between January 2007 and June 2010. The primary outcome variable was the durability of this first ART regimen until discontinued or amended and the reasons for the change. Survival analysis of durability was performed using Kaplan-Meyer curves analysis, and a Cox multiple regression model was constructed to identify associated factors., Results: A first-line ART regimen was initiated for 600 patients; after 1 year, it had been changed in 172 (28%) cases, with a median duration of 31 months. The main reason for change was toxicity (20.5% of all patients), followed by loss to follow-up (8.3%) and virological failure (5.3%). The most common type of toxicity was gastrointestinal (30%), followed by cutaneous (23%) and neuropsychiatric (18%). The use of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) was associated with greater durability than that of protease inhibitors (43 months vs 21 months; P = .001)., Conclusions: The durability of the first-line ART regimen, based on current antiretroviral drugs and coformulations, is about 2.5 years, with toxicity being the main reason for its modification. Gastrointestinal toxicity is the type most commonly reported. NNRTI treatment is associated with greater durability of the first treatment regimen.

Objectives: To assess the effect of early syphilis on HIV viral load (VL) and CD4 cell count in patients with HIV and to analyze factors associated with changes in HIV VL and CD4 cell count., Design: Multicenter study of a series of patients with HIV who were diagnosed with early syphilis infection during 2004 through 2005. Patients who started or changed their highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimen during the analysis period were excluded., Results: One hundred eighteen patients were analyzed: 95.8% were men, mean patient age was 38.2 years, 83.9% were homosexual men, 50.8% were on antiretroviral therapy at the time syphilis was diagnosed, and HIV and syphilis diagnoses were coincident in 38 (32.2%) cases. CD4 cell counts were lower during syphilis than before (590 vs. 496 cells/microL; P = 0.0001) and after syphilis treatment (509 vs. 597 cells/microL; P = 0.0001). The HIV VL increased in 27.6% of patients during syphilis. The only factor associated with an HIV VL increase was not being on HAART, and the only factor associated with a CD4 count decrease >100 cells/microL during syphilis was the prior CD4 cell count., Conclusions: Syphilis infection was associated with a decrease in the CD4 cell count and an increase in the HIV VL in almost one third of the patients. In this series, more than two thirds of the syphilis cases were diagnosed in patients who were previously known to be infected with HIV.

Background: Didanosine enteric-coated capsules (ddI-EC) should be taken under fasting conditions. However, the effect of food on the absorption of ddI-EC may not reduce exposure to the drug., Method: We performed an observational study to assess the effect on virological failure of taking ddI-EC with food. To be included, patients had to have begun their first ddI-EC-containing HAART regimen between June 1, 2001 and June 1, 2003. Primary endpoints were virological failure or discontinuation of the ddI-EC-containing regimen., Results: 668 patients were included (119 patients were naïve, 172 switched from a different regimen, and 377 were part of rescue therapy). 296 patients were taking ddI-EC with food. After 71 weeks of follow-up, 162 discontinued ddI-EC in the fasting group and 120 in the fed group. 46 patients had virological failure (19 without food vs. 27 in the group with food). Adherence to therapy >80% was 79.7%. We fitted a multivariate Cox proportional hazard model and found a significant interaction between ddI-EC intake and adherence. The multivariate model showed that when adherence to HAART was poor (<80% of prescribed pills) taking ddI-EC with food significantly increased the risk of virological failure (hazard ratio [HR] 8.32, 95% CI 1.67-41.65), but this disappeared when adherence was 80%-95% (HR 0.27, 95% CI 0.04-1.53) or >95% (HR 0.57, 95% CI 0.12-2.77)., Conclusion: When adherence is good (>80% of the prescribed doses), ddI-EC can be administered with food without an increase in virological failure or HAART discontinuation.

A 65-year-old man who, when young, had had tuberculosis treated by therapeutic pneumothorax, consulted his family physician for a constitutional syndrome and dyspnea. At this time radiologic studies showed left pleural effusion with bilateral calcified plaques, an infiltrate in the upper left lobe, and a picture compatible with aspergilloma, all suggesting semi-invasive aspergillosis. The patient failed to show up for his followup visit, so no therapy could be started or further diagnostic tests ordered. One month later he was admitted to this hospital for a bronchopleural fistula (empyema necessitatis) with subsequent spontaneous hydropneumothorax and costal bone involvement. The patient underwent surgery because of his rapid worsening condition. Biopsy examination revealed a large pleural aspergilloma. Despite immediate antifungal therapy, the patient died. We believe this to be the first report of pleural Aspergillus with a bronchopleurocutaneous fistula and costal bone destruction.

Objectives: Analysis and identification of factors associated with the tuberculosis (TB) recurrence in HIV-infected patients., Patients and Methods: The HIV-infected patients diagnosed with TB between 1995-2000 and with correct completion of the treatment were selected. There were compared those patients who presented a tuberculous disease recurrence with those which did not presented it. Multivariate analysis was carried out by logistic regression in order to identify factors associated with a new episode of TB., Results: In the total sample of 223 diagnosed HIV-infected patients with TB, 159 (71.3%) patients completed adequately the treatment and were considered cured. The rest were excluded because of: death before completing the treatment (5.8%), lost in the follow-up (11.7%), therapeutic abandonment (9.4%), and therapeutic failure (1.8%). In the 159 patient final sample, 14 (8.8%) patients presented later recurrence. The patients with recurrent TB presented a greater degree of immunosuppression, more previous complications indicative of AIDS, and greater frequency of extrapulmonary TB in the initial episode. After the multivariate analysis, a count of lymphocytes CD4 lower than 100/mm3 in the first episode of TB was associated with recurrent tuberculous disease (odds ratio [OR]: 4,6; 95% confidence index [CI]: 1,3-18,2). Mortality was high (35.7%) in the patients with recurrent episodes., Conclusions: The recurrence of TB in patients coinfected by HIV occurs in individuals with profound immunossuppression and is associated to high mortality.

Objective: To analyze the clinical features, yield of the diagnostic techniques, and therapeutic response of HIV-associated visceral leishmaniasis (VL), and compare the initial episodes to the relapses., Methods: Forty-one episodes of leishmaniasis visceral, diagnosed in 31 HIV-positive patients between 1st February 1992 and 31st January 1996 were reviewed., Results: The prevalence of VL in HIV-positive patients in our center was 4.2%. Fifty-eight percent of the patients had AIDS prior to the diagnosis of VL. Fever was more frequent in the initial episodes than in the relapses (90.3% versus 60%; p < 0.05; OR: 6.2; IC 95%: 0.8-51.5), splenomegaly was more frequent in the relapses (100% versus 71%; p = 0.05). The diagnostic delay was longer in the initial episodes (27.2 +/- 22.7 versus 5 +/- 4.8 days; p < 0.05). The diagnostic yield of bone marrow biopsy was 82.1%, of liver biopsy 72.7% and of splenic fine-needle aspiration 87.5%. The indirect immunofluorescence test for Leishmania antibodies was positive in 5.9% of cases. Therapeutic failure occurred in 47.6% of patients treated with antimonials and 3.3% of patients treated with amphotericin B. Those patients who received secondary prophylaxis had less relapses than those who did not (17.6% versus 66.7%; p < 0.05; OR: 0.11; IC 95%: 0.01-1.28). Of the 31 patients, twenty-six (83.8%) died, and in none of them was the cause of the death directly related to LV., Conclusion: HIV-associated VL manifests clinically in a similar fashion to the immunocompetent's disease. It appears in advanced immunosuppression phases, behaving like other AIDS-defining illnesses. In spite of a good therapeutic response the relapse rate is high.