Research progress on the relationship between HIV infection, antiretroviral therapy, and diabetes mellitus / 中华流行病学杂志

The expectancy and quality of life among people with HIV have improved remarkably with the widespread use of antiretroviral therapy (ART). In the meantime, the risks for HIV-related metabolic diseases have increased significantly, in particular diabetes mellitus. Multi-factors coeffect to increasing the risk of diabetes mellitus among HIV patients. Recently, growing of research has reported an association between HIV infections and ART and the development of diabetes mellitus. In this article, we summarize the recent studies investigating HIV infection and ART in diabetes mellitus to clarify their mechanism on the development of diabetes.

Evaluation of Xpert MTB/RIF for the Diagnosis of Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis in China / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

We evaluate the performance of Xpert MTB/RIF for the diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) in China. The performance of Xpert was evaluated compared to the composite reference standard (CRS), drug susceptibility testing (DST), and imaging examination. The overall sensitivity and specificity of Xpert were 64.1% (195/304) and 100% (24/24), respectively, using CRS as the gold standard. The sensitivity was significantly higher than that of culture for pus (P<0.05). The proportion of EPTB-positive cases diagnosed by imaging was two times more than that diagnosed using Xpert; however, 6 out of 19 cases may have been overdiagnosed by imaging. Compared to phenotypic DST, the sensitivity and specificity of Xpert were 80% (12/15) and 100% (75/75), respectively. Considering its high sensitivity and specificity, Xpert MTB/RIF may be used as a rapid initial test for EPTB diagnosis, and may also support a quicker decision on the treatment regimen. The combination of imaging and Xpert testing could provide high efficiency and accurate diagnosis of suspected EPTB.