An ongoing dialogue on HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases,
April 9th, 2011
And Now, for a More Comprehensive CROI Report …
Although I’ve already provided a Really Rapid Review™ of the 18th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), the editors of Journal Watch/AIDS Clinical Care have put together a more comprehensive summary here. I sometimes wonder what research from these conferences will not only stand the test of time, but will grow in importance and […]
April 1st, 2011
Clindamycin or Cephalexin for (Mostly) MRSA?
Over on the Journal Watch Pediatrics site, there’s a summary of a study that compared clindamycin with cephalexin for purulent skin infections in kids age 6 months to 18 years. The results? MRSA and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) were isolated from 70% and 19% of children, respectively … The primary outcome — clinical improvement at […]
March 30th, 2011
Journal Club: Even When You Think You Should Wait, It’s Probably Time to Start
Two papers just published in AIDS with relevance to the “when to start” antiretroviral therapy question. Both apply to certain patients in whom we might consider waiting to start treatment– but both these studies suggest we do otherwise. The first applies to the patients with slooooow CD4 decline. Perhaps so slow that both you and […]
March 26th, 2011
Zoster Vaccine for Age 50 and Up? A Resounding “Yea” Vote Here
I was getting off the elevator at the hospital the other day, and a cardiologist greeted me with the phrase every ID doctor in the world will instantly recognize: Can I ask you a quick question? It was actually a series of questions, and, as is often the case, it wasn’t so “quick”. But I […]
March 18th, 2011
Friday Fosfomycins
Today’s ID/HIV comments and links are named after every ID specialist’s favorite new toy for UTIs. This HIV transmission from a kidney donor is getting quite a bit of media play, as such complications always do. I was at a meeting this AM when one of my colleagues (an endocrinologist) commented how horrible she thought […]
March 1st, 2011
Like It or Not, PrEP Enters the Clinic
Since the publication of iPrEx, the hypothetical decision about whether to prescribe pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has become a practical reality. As a result, we’ve posted a case on the Journal Watch/AIDS Clinical Care site, describing someone who requests intermittent pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV. It’s a high-risk, HIV-negative man who’s been treated several times with post-exposure prophylaxis. […]
February 27th, 2011
CROI 2011 Starts Today
With a fresh 4 inches of snow on the ground in Boston, the 18th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) starts today. Pocket program is available here (PDF format). Based on a (very) quick perusal, we can expect the following: Progress (lots of it) in prevention, with more from CAPRISA and iPrEx and the […]
February 17th, 2011
Zinc May Work for Colds — But Don’t Pretend It’s Not a Drug
Does zinc work for colds? Apparently it does, according to this Cochrane Review. From the “Plain Language Summary”: This review identified 15 randomized controlled trials, enrolling 1360 participants of all age groups, comparing zinc with placebo (no zinc). We found that zinc (lozenges or syrup) is beneficial in reducing the duration and severity of the […]
February 14th, 2011
Pspring Training Pseudomonads
A few ID/HIV issues to ponder as we welcome back the most important sport in the universe: Interesting new Guidelines on UTIs from IDSA — especially their recommendations not to use fluoroquinolones for uncomplicated cystitis and to promote nitrofurantoin for 5 days to first-line for this indication. And welcome to fosfomycin — though this could eliminate […]
February 3rd, 2011
Disparities in HIV Diagnoses, and Interpreting CDC-ese
In anticipation of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (February 7), the CDC has issued a new report on the disparities in HIV diagnoses in the United States. During 2005–2008, blacks/African Americans accounted for 13.6% of the population in the 37 states and 50.3% of the 156,812 diagnoses of HIV infection during that period … HIV […]
Paul E. Sax, MD
Contributing Editor
NEJM Journal Watch
Infectious Diseases
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