HIV and ID Observations

July 4th, 2008

Announcement: CROI 2009 Date Still Not Announced

As I wrote last month, the date and location of the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) each year is an annual mystery of legendary proportions.  As of July 4, 2009, the mystery continues. Constructive criticism for the conference organizers:  why not start working on the date/location for the 2010 meeting now?

---

June 29th, 2008

And Now… The “Answer”

Last month, I wrote a post inviting responses to our Antiretroviral Rounds case in AIDS Clinical Care, and inviting you to respond. It was a case of someone with (mostly) undetectable HIV RNA levels, but lots of resistance detected when he had to stop meds due to pancreatitis. I also promised to tell you how […]

---

June 24th, 2008

HIV Occupational Post-exposure Prophylaxis: Do the Right Thing

From one of our local HIV providers: There were two occasions recently when our local infectious disease doctor was consulted by the emergency room to decide what type of post exposure prophylaxis regimen to recommend for individuals who had sustained an occupational exposure (needlesticks) to two of our HIV positive patients.  It had been known […]

---

June 15th, 2008

Curbside Consults: What are They Worth?

Below is a friendly email exchange I had last week with with one of our hospital’s primary care providers: Dear Paul, do you know anything about whether pts should be given prophylactic antibiotics prior to dental procedures etc. if they have an indwelling IV catheter?  I have a pt. who has a BardPort porta cath […]

---

June 9th, 2008

When (and Where) in the World is the 2009 Retrovirus Conference?

The Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections — “CROI” — is the premiere scientific and clinical conference in the HIV world.  Every February, thousands of serious scientists and clinicians huddle in some frozen northern city, spending three and a half days intensely reviewing the latest and greatest in the field. So it’s time for an […]

---

June 2nd, 2008

Zoster Vaccine Guidelines — Official Answers, but Still Some Questions

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has just released the “official” guidelines for use of the zoster vaccine. And none too soon — if I had a dollar (or these days, make that a euro) for every curbside consult I’ve received about the zoster vaccine … The vaccine’s indications are simple — age over […]

---

May 21st, 2008

When Expert Clinicians Disagree

Periodically, in AIDS Clinical Care, we publish a case in the “Antiretroviral Rounds” section and ask two clinical experts in our field how they would manage such a patient. The most recent case elicited responses that were 180 degrees different. (This is exactly what we’re after, by the way — why present a case in […]

---

May 14th, 2008

Certification in HIV Medicine — Another Try

In March, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) issued a proposal for a “Maintenance of Certification” (MOC) pathway in HIV medicine for general internists. This is the second such special pathway ABIM is considering (the first was hospitalist medicine). Regardless of whether you agree with the proposal, it’s a good read, providing an excellent […]

---

May 5th, 2008

Brush with Greatness: Paul Farmer

Perhaps you caught this week’s 60 Minutes, featuring the work done by Partners in Health, the group founded and run by Paul Farmer. (If he reads this, he’ll no doubt want to correct my description of him as playing these major roles, eager to give equal credit to his impressive colleague Jim Kim and his […]

---

April 30th, 2008

Young Doctors “Get a Life” — Whither ID/HIV?

A front-page article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal says that younger physicians (definition:  younger than I am), “intent on balancing work and family,” are choosing specialties that allow them to control their hours.  The content of the article will be familiar, including: The rise of the hospitalist movement A decline in those entering primary care fields […]

---