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Cardiovascular risk is increased in HIV-infected patients and has become a leading cause of morbi-mortality in this population. The purpose of this study is to compare HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and ART-naïve HIV-infected patients regarding arterial elasticity. From September 2010 to September 2015, 105 HIV-infected subjects were enrolled, 41 ART-naïve and 64 on ART with stable viral suppression. Elasticity of large and small arteries (LAE and SAE) was assessed by analysis of radial pulse waveforms using a calibrated device. A single set of measurements was performed. Multivariate linear regression models were constructed to estimate independent correlates of arterial elasticity. On-ART and ART-naïve patients were similar with respect to gender, age, body mass index, Framingham cardiovascular risk score, smoking habits, and CD4+ counts. Median time on treatment was 60 months and 79% of patients were on regimens based on non-nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors. No significant differences in LAE and SAE assessments were found between groups. However, time on ART and cholesterol levels were independently associated with LAE impairment. No association between arterial elasticity and CD4+ counts was found. We conclude that cumulative exposure to ART may play a role on LAE impairment and deserves further investigation.

Recent findings from the START Trial provided evidence that early initiation of antiretroviral treatment should be implemented as the global standard of care. However, a large proportion of patients are still being diagnosed in late stages. Our objective was to evaluate the temporal trend in the CD4+ cell count at diagnosis during a 13 year period and the factors associated with late HIV diagnosis in asymptomatic individuals tested in the Centre for Prevention, Counselling and Diagnosis of our hospital. It was a retrospective study including all asymptomatic patients with new diagnosis of HIV infection. Very late presenters (VLP) were defined as those with CD4+ counts < 200 and late presenters (LP) with CD4+ < 350 cell/mm3. We also evaluated the proportion of patients diagnosed with CD4+ cell counts below 500 cell/mm3. Between January 2002 and December 2014, 20 263 patients were tested for HIV, 1104 with a positive result of whom 995 asymptomatic individuals were included. Overall, median CD4+ count was 372 cells/mm3 and HIV-RNA 31 145 copies/ml. There was no evidence that the CD4+ count at diagnosis progressively increased over time, nor that the proportion of VLP and LP decreased. In a multivariate model older age, heterosexual transmission and intravenous drug use remained as independent factors associated with LP. In conclusion, late diagnosis of HIV infection remains prevalent among asymptomatic patients, highlighting the need to continue implementing strategies towards early diagnosis.

Saint Louis encephalitis virus (SLE) is a mosquito borne disease. Only a small proportion of cases progress to severe clinical forms. There have been few reports on HIV-infected patients and the relationship between immunodeficiency and the course of the disease remains unclear. Herein we describe two cases of SLE in HIV-1-infected patients in Buenos Aires city.

Background and Objectives: Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading cause of death in HIV-infected patients worldwide. We aimed to study clinical characteristics and outcome of 1075 consecutive patients diagnosed with HIV/TB from 2004 to 2006 in Europe and Argentina., Methods: One-year mortality was assessed in patients stratified according to region of residence, and factors associated with death were evaluated in multivariable Cox models., Results: At TB diagnosis, patients in Eastern Europe had less advanced immunodeficiency, whereas a greater proportion had a history of intravenous drug use, coinfection with hepatitis C, disseminated TB, and infection with drug-resistant TB (P < 0.0001). In Eastern Europe, fewer patients initiated TB treatment containing at least rifamycin, isoniazid, and pyrazinamide or combination antiretroviral therapy (P < 0.0001). Mortality at 1 year was 27% in Eastern Europe, compared with 7, 9 and 11% in Central/Northern Europe, Southern Europe, and Argentina, respectively (P < 0.0001). In a multivariable model, the adjusted relative hazard of death was significantly lower in each of the other regions compared with Eastern Europe: 0.34 (95% confidence interval 0.17-0.65), 0.28 (0.14-0.57), 0.34 (0.15-0.77) in Argentina, Southern Europe and Central/Northern Europe, respectively. Factors significantly associated with increased mortality were CD4 cell count less than 200 cells/microl [2.31 (1.56-3.45)], prior AIDS [1.74 (1.22-2.47)], disseminated TB [2.00 (1.38-2.85)], initiation of TB treatment not including rifamycin, isoniazid and pyrazinamide [1.68 (1.20-2.36)], and rifamycin resistance [2.10 (1.29-3.41)]. Adjusting for these known confounders did not explain the increased mortality seen in Eastern Europe., Conclusion: The poor outcome of patients with HIV/TB in Eastern Europe deserves further study and urgent public health attention.

Few data are available regarding the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STI), including HIV-1 infection, and risk behaviors of transgender individuals. Previous reports indicate that this community has a high prevalence of HIV and STIs. Our objective was to compare the prevalence of HIV-1 infection, STI and risk behaviors of transgender people versus non transgender people. We used a cross sectional design study. Patients who received services at our testing site between November 2002 and April 2006, and provided written informed consent, were included in the analysis. Socio-demographic data, sexual behaviour, recreational drug use, condom use, concurrent or previous STI and HIV-1 infection diagnosis and partner serologic status, were collected. We used descriptive statistics and chi 2 for comparisons of proportions. In the period of the study, 105 transgender individuals were identified in a population of 4118 patients tested. The prevalence of HIV infection in the transgender group was 27.6% (29/105), while in the non transgender group was 6.2% (247/4013) p:0.0000. Low level of formal instruction, alcohol consumption, drug abuse, previous history of STI and sex work (100% transgenders and 2.3% of non-transgenders) were significantly more frequent in the transgender. The referred correct use of condom was similar in both groups. The prevalence of syphilis was 42.3% in transgender group and 18.1% in non-transgender individuals. These data show that this population has a very high prevalence of HIV-1 and STI. This information could be instrumental to design targets for intensive HIV prevention strategies in this particular high risk population.

Objective: Our objective was to estimate primary resistance in an urban setting in a developing country with a long history of antiretroviral delivery and high coverage levels., Design: We carried out a resistance surveillance study according to WHO HIV-Resistance Guidelines., Methods: Blood samples were collected from 323 drug-naive HIV-1 infected individuals diagnosed at two HIV voluntary counselling and testing centers in Buenos Aires. Viral-load, CD4 cell counts and detuned assays were performed on all samples. The pol gene was sequenced and the resistance profile determined. Phylogenetic analysis was performed by neighbor-joining trees and bootscanning analysis., Results: We found that 12 (4.2%) of the 284 samples sequenced harbored primary resistance mutations, of which K103N, M41L and V108I were most prevalent. Phylogenetic analysis revealed evidence for the transmission of the K103N mutation among the drug-naive population. The proportion of recent infections identified by the detuned assay was 10.1%., Conclusions: Levels of primary resistance in Buenos Aires are still low, despite a long history of ARV delivery and high coverage levels.

HIV patient hospitalization during the pre and post-HAART era. The purpose of this study was to describe and to compare the characteristics of patient admissions during two periods, one pre HAART and the other when HAART was fully available. A retrospective analysis of demographic data, ambulatory care information and hospitalization characteristics was performed. Causes of admission, outcome, mortality, length of hospitalization and type of antiretroviral therapy were analyzed. A total of 330 medical records were reviewed, corresponding to 522 admissions during both study periods: 1995-96 (n = 289) and 2001-02 (n = 233). The most frequent causes of hospitalization were AIDS defining events (period 1: 57.1%; period 2: 59.7%). Tuberculosis was the main cause of admission in both periods (23.9% and 15.5%). Criptococosis (3.5%-7.3%), Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (5.9%-9.4%), and CNS toxoplasmosis (6.9 -8.6%) followed tuberculosis. Mortality did not vary significantly (13.5%-16.1%). HIV-1 infection was diagnosed at admission in 30% of cases. During 2nd period, a significant decrease in re-admission (41.6-26.8%) was observed, whereas there was an increase in the percentage of patients with previous antiretroviral treatment on admission (8%-25%). An increase in the ambulatory care clinic consultations (1995: n = 1678; 1996: n = 2512; 2001: n = 5670; 2002: n = 7074) was observed. No significant differences in the causes of admission and outcome in both periods were found. Tuberculosis is the most frequent disease that motivates hospitalization. The relation between ambulatory consultations and the amount of admissions significantly increased.