HIV and ID Observations

September 11th, 2012

Are Fluoroquinolones Really More Dangerous Than Other Antibiotics?

In today’s New York Times, health writer Jane Brody slams quinolone antibiotics: Part of the problem is that fluoroquinolones are often inappropriately prescribed. Instead of being reserved for use against serious, perhaps life-threatening bacterial infections like hospital-acquired pneumonia, these antibiotics are frequently prescribed for sinusitis, bronchitis, earaches and other ailments that may resolve on their own or can […]

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September 8th, 2012

People Fear EEE and West Nile, but not Influenza — Can Someone Explain Why?

OK, here’s a quick quiz — match the viral infection with the average annual US deaths: 1.  Eastern Equine Encephalitis A.  36,000, mostly in the elderly 2.  Influenza B.  < 10, mostly in the elderly I know, it was an easy one — 1 goes with B, and 2 with A. Here’s a good reference for more […]

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August 25th, 2012

On HCV, These Questions Three

In the fastest-moving area of ID drug development, answers are eagerly sought to the following questions three: What does the bad news on BMS-986094 — formerly INX-189 — mean for other investigational HCV nucleotides? Severe cardiotoxicity, fatal in one case, has ended the drug’s development. Importantly, nothing similar has thus far been observed  with the structurally-similar IDX184, but that […]

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August 15th, 2012

Brush with Greatness: Atul Gawande

I was an English major in college, so when my acceptance to medical school (miraculously) arrived, several people gave me books written by doctors about their experience in the medical profession. “See,” these gifts implied, “Just because you’re going to medical school doesn’t mean you need to become a science drone. Doctors can write too!” […]

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August 8th, 2012

Must-Read Piece: “Imagine a World Without AIDS”

With all the hoopla at last month’s International AIDS Conference about ending AIDS and curing AIDS and bringing us an AIDS-free generation, there was plenty of ink spilled on the topic. Ironically, the attention the meeting received was inversely proportional to its scientific content, which was actually fairly light on a content-per-day scale. The meeting […]

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August 1st, 2012

Really Rapid Review — 2012 International AIDS Conference, Washington, DC

Last week’s International AIDS Conference in Washington got plenty of media attention, mostly because it was the first time in umpteen years that it was held in the United States, the delay between meetings due to our absurd (and now repealed) immigration laws regarding HIV. (Quick trivia question — where was the conference supposed to […]

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July 25th, 2012

AIDS Quilt, the Early 1990s, and Sadness

The early 1990s has potentially many associations — the break-up of the Soviet Union, the first Gulf War, the World Trade Center and Oklahoma City bombings, The Lion King, Forest Gump, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, and the cancellation of the baseball season, to name a few. But we HIV/ID specialists will […]

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July 23rd, 2012

IAS-USA HIV Guidelines Updated

With the International AIDS Conference in Washington just starting, the International Antiviral (ahem) Society-USA has revised its HIV treatment guidelines, updating the 2010 version. As has been the case for several years now, it’s published in JAMA and also available on the IAS-USA web site. It’s a well written, evidence-driven summary of the current state […]

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July 16th, 2012

Sizzling Summer Serratias

Several ID/HIV items to contemplate as the heat really kicks in here in the torrid USA: TDF/FTC approved for pre-exposure prophylaxis. The challenging issues of defining the best candidates for this strategy — and finding the providers to prescribe it — still remain, but FDA approval should at least help justify insurance coverage if clinicians […]

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July 10th, 2012

Are ID Doctors the Worst Dressed Specialists?

Unusual exchange the other day with one of my (non-ID) colleagues. All dialogue reported verbatim: Non-ID guy: Hi Paul. Me:  Hi Jon. [I’m expecting the next line to be: “Quick question: I’ve got a patient with a positive PPD and a history of BCG, etc.” Instead, it’s this bizarre comment:] Non-ID guy:  You know, I […]

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