HIV and ID Observations

August 18th, 2023

My Vote for the Weirdest Antibiotic on the Planet

If you’re an ID doctor, there’s an excellent chance you’ve treated patients who have non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) with clofazimine. In fact, based on a poll done with the utmost scientific rigor, it’s well more than half of you. And if you’re not an ID doctor, there’s a decent chance you’ve never even heard of it — […]

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May 8th, 2023

As the Public Health Emergency Comes to an End, How Are We Feeling About This?

As you no doubt heard, on Friday, May 5, 2023, the WHO declared the end of the global health emergency from COVID-19. Here in the U.S., the federal public health emergency will expire on May 11. That’s Thursday, just a few days from now. These events reflect two realities that, while seemingly contradictory, make these decisions reasonable […]

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April 28th, 2023

What is the Future of HIV Primary Care?

Here’s a figure I’ve made for an upcoming talk, which is entitled “The Future of HIV Care.” It summarizes several eras in HIV treatment, finishing up with the current unprecedented successful phase where most people with HIV take 1–2 pills a day, have virologic suppression and no clinically apparent immunodeficiency. HIV is often the least […]

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April 21st, 2023

A Change-of-Season ID/HIV Link-o-Rama

The warm weather takes its sweet time to arrive here in Boston, teasing us with an occasional comfortable day, but reverting frequently to chilly temperatures and high winds until mid-to-late May at the earliest. The afternoon sunlight might say, “Spring is here!”, but the nightly temps in the upper 30s/low 40s definitely say otherwise. Brrr. Anyway, […]

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April 8th, 2023

Travel Clinics and a Travel History to Beat All Travel Histories

Dear All, I’ve received some very helpful and quite critical comments about the original post that was here. Having re-read the original, I’m acknowledging my mistake and want to apologize to my colleagues, many of whom do travel medicine with true expertise, excellent intentions, and for the benefit of travelers everywhere. My bad for not emphasizing […]

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March 27th, 2023

Three Effective Treatments for COVID-19 Not in Treatment Guidelines — at Least Not Yet

A few weeks ago, in a patented (and copyrighted and trademarked) Really Rapid Review™, I summarized some of the Greatest Hits from CROI 2023. The conference included new data on not just HIV, but also a grab bag of opportunistic infections, STIs, viral hepatitis — and, as has been the case since 2020, COVID-19. You know, […]

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February 28th, 2023

Really Rapid Review — CROI 2023, Seattle

In a recent chat I had on a local TV network on this year’s respiratory virus season, the host mentioned that “this year felt very post-pandemic”, prompting me reflexively to knock wood — and I’m not a superstitious person. But even we ID doctors must acknowledge the dramatic improvement in COVID severity this winter compared to […]

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January 17th, 2023

After the PANORAMIC Study — Whither Molnupiravir?

We turn now to the second of the controversial papers published in late 2022 on COVID-19 — namely the PANORAMIC study of molnupiravir versus usual care in outpatients with the disease. This one is controversial not because the study was poorly done, or unimportant, but because molnupiravir has, from the start, been a contentious treatment […]

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December 27th, 2022

Finishing the Year with Some ID Things We Can All Agree On

There are some things in ID for which there is universal agreement among our infection-obsessed clan. You might not believe it based on the squabbles over pandemic-related issues in the press or social media, but it’s true! Here’s a quick 10 off the top of my head, and of course there are more: Childhood immunizations are good. […]

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December 19th, 2022

Chaos in the Diagnosis of Pneumocystis Pneumonia

Confession — no one knows the best way to diagnose Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia, commonly abbreviated as PJP, or for some stubborn old timers, PCP. Don’t believe me? Take a look at this poll — not just the results, but the extraordinary diversity of responses — then head on back here for a historical perspective sure to […]

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