An ongoing dialogue on HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases,
June 11th, 2015
Summer Is Almost Here ID Link-o-Rama
I know, I know. You’re sick of hearing Bostonians complain about the winter we just had. But did you know that the weather here didn’t get reliably warm here until, well, this week?
We all have PTSD. Don’t talk to us about anything even vaguely white, flakey, and cold. Yes, we’re afraid of refrigerated coconut.
I’ll stop whining now.
- The spread of MERS in Korea is facilitated by severe overcrowding in hospitals. Who knew that getting a hospital room in Seoul was like trying to get a reservation at a top restaurant in New York City.
- Remarkable paper on survival after AIDS-related opportunistic infections in San Francisco since the beginning of the epidemic. Vast improvement over time, of course, but not uniformly among all OIs — outcomes for lymphoma (especially CNS) and PML are still dismal.
- A short-course of antibiotics (4 days) for abdominal infections seems to be just fine. The challenge, of course, is not with straightforward cases — it’s the ones where “source control” can’t be verified. Or, to quote the fine accompanying editorial, “Early in the 21st century, it seems likely that source control remains a considerable problem in treating abdominal sepsis.” Indeed. So though it’s an important study, I don’t think we’re quite ready to remove this from the unanswerable questions list.
- Like something out of science fiction, this test can tell you every virus you’ve ever been exposed to. Based on personal domestic experience, I would bet pediatricians break all kinds of records for positivity on this one. And how long before you can get this test done at your local CVS? Further discussion here in the New York Times, in case Science isn’t your cup of tea.
- The Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines have been updated, a heroic effort that will be cited and referred to many, many times. It’s a vast document, so use the above CDC link (which has a Table of Contents) rather than the MMWR one, which doesn’t. Apps coming soon per lead author Kim Workowski.
- Provocative piece on the complex issue of academic-industry relationships, which raises the distinct possibility that anti-industry sentiment might have gone too far in medical research and publishing — a view echoed here by the Editor-in-Chief of the NEJM. Getting this issue reviewed from a different perspective is most welcome, as I can’t imagine how we could have made HIV treatable without this collaboration. Not surprisingly, these views have engendered some controversy, including from former editors.
- Related topic — here’s a fascinating profile of nucleoside-nucleotide guru Raymond Schinazi, the man responsible (to at least some degree) for several groundbreaking HIV and HCV therapeutics. This is not your typical PhD academic scientist — how many have earnings that rival hedge fund managers, George Clooney, or Alex Rodriguez? And who is more deserving?
- Shigella with resistance to azithromycin and quinolones, and widespread resistance of salmonella to quinolones. The news on these enteric bugs keeps getting worse. Thoroughly cook those burgers this weekend!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZPlfuJYViE&w=560&h=315]
Paul E. Sax, MD
Contributing Editor
NEJM Journal Watch
Infectious Diseases
Biography | Disclosures | Summaries
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