Efficacy of COVID-19 Vaccination in People Living with HIV: A Public Health Fundamental Tool for the Protection of Patients and the Correct Management of Infection.

HIV/AIDS is considered a risk factor for increased mortality due to COVID-19. For this reason, it is essential to include this population in vaccination campaigns. Studies found that antibodies are lower in HIV+ patients than in healthy individuals. The aim of this study was to assess the immune response in a cohort of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccination in order to evaluate the role played by the HIV infection in the efficacy of this vaccine. We carried out a cross-sectional study in the period April-September 2021, involving a cohort of PLWH and a cohort of HIV-uninfected people as the control group. The efficacy of vaccination was high in both groups despite a slight and not significant difference between them. However, important differences were found according to the intensity of the immune response. Specifically, while in the HIV+ group almost a quarter of people had a low response, it is important to remark that the control group had only a high or intermediate response after vaccination. Our results suggest the high efficacy of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in PLWH and the importance to vaccinate against COVID-19 in these patients in order to increase their protection.

Sarilumab administration in patients with severe COVID‑19: A report of four cases and a literature review

Almost 2 years have passed since the World Health Organization declared a pandemic state for severe acute respi‑ ratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. The pathogenesis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) consists of an initial viral phase responsible for early symptoms followed by an inflammatory phase, which is cytokine‑mediated, responsible for late‑onset symptoms, culminating in acute respiratory distress syndrome. Considering that IL‑6 plays a key‑role in the development and maintenance of inflammation, drugs targeting both IL‑6 and IL‑6 receptors have been evaluated. The present study reports the cases of four hospitalized patients with severe respiratory COVID‑19 treated with a single dose of sarilumab, a monoclonal anti‑IL‑6 antibody, along with standard of care medications and oxygen therapy. A few days following sarilumab administration, the clinical and biochem‑ ical conditions began to improve, until the discontinuation of O2 therapy and discharge. The present study demonstrates that sarilumab may represent a promising drug that may be used to treat the hyperinflammatory phase;however, further trials are required to determine whether it should be used combina‑ tion with other drugs or alone, and to better understand the pharmacokinetics and related side‑effects. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of World Academy of Sciences Journal is the property of Spandidos Publications UK Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Arteriovenous fistula thrombosis in hemodialysis patients with COVID-19: epiphenomenon or marker of severe clinical disease?

Background: Pandemic condition due to Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused a fastest augmentation of hospitalization, impairing the healthcare organization. As a consequence, diagnostic and therapeutic delays have been showed. COVID-19-associated coagulopathy is an endothelial disease related to SARSCoV-2 infection. Our study evaluated the thrombosis of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) as risk marker of mortality. Methods: the analysis included 24 dialysis-dependent patients admitted in a period between March 2020 and June 2021. Patients were divided based on AVF thrombosis: the A group without AVF thrombosis (13 patients), and the B group with AVF thrombosis events (11 patients). Pearson or Spearman' correlation tests were performed to detect possible confounding variable to include in multivariate models. Kaplan Meier and Cox regression analysis were performed to compute mortality analysis. Results: Delta D-dimer (Rho: 0.613, p=0.007), over-infections (Rho 0.456; p= 0,026), C-reactive Protein (CRP) (Rho=0.417, p=0.043), death (Rho=0.492, p=0.027), positive pulmonary imaging (Rho 0.388, p=0.074), and high OLT (0.408, p=0.047) were related to AVF thrombosis, using Pearson or Spearman correlation tests. Kaplan Meier test showed a death average of 19 days in group B compared to a global average of 38 days (p=0.029), and Cox analysis showed an HR of 5.01, 95% CI 1.01-24.99, p=0.049. Furthermore, AVF thrombosis explained about the 68% of the mortality, evaluated through the Harrel's C test. Conclusion: We can speculate that AVF thrombosis in hemodialysis patients with COVID-19 could be an early marker of both pro-coagulative process and severe clinical disease and it could be used to stratify patients and identify the ones that can be considered "frail".

Pulmonary Kaposi Sarcoma without Respiratory Symptoms and Skin Lesions in an HIV-Naïve Patient: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is a multifocal lympho-angioproliferative, mesenchymal low-grade tumor associated with a γ2-herpesvirus, named Kaposi sarcoma-associated virus or human herpesvirus (KSHV/HHV8). The lung is considered a usual anatomical location of KS, despite being infrequent, often in association with extensive mucocutaneous lesions and very uncommonly as an isolated event. We report a case of a pulmonary KS (pKS) in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) naïve patient, which was atypical due to a lack of cutaneous involvement and an absence of respiratory symptoms. The pKS was initially identified as a tumoral suspected nodular lesion and only after immunohistochemical analysis was it characterized as KS. Furthermore, the diagnosis of pKS led to the discovery of the HIV-seropositive status of the patient, previously unknown. Our report underlines the importance of considering pKS even without skin lesions and as a first manifestation of HIV infection. We also reviewed literature on the current knowledge about pKS in people living with HIV (PLWH) to underline how one of the most common HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) associated tumors can have a challenging localization and be difficult to recognize.

Favourable course in a cohort of Parkinson's disease patients infected by SARS-CoV-2: a single-centre experience.

The COVID-19 outbreak has had a dramatic impact on the healthcare system due to the rapid, worldwide spread of the virus, highlighting several considerations on the best management of infected patients and also potential risks and prognostic factors in patients with pre-existing chronic diseases exposed to the virus. Neurodegenerative disorders are known to be chronic, disabling diseases that imply a higher vulnerability to infections, and for this reason, it has been suggested that SARS-CoV-2 infection may have a worse course in these patients. In the present study, we report our experience with 12 patients affected by Parkinson's disease (PD) who became infected with SARS-Cov-2 due to a COVID-19 outbreak in a care residency, and thus hospitalised in our COVID hospital. Most of the PD patients had a long disease duration and multiple comorbidities even though SARS-CoV-2 manifestations were mild, and none required intensive care. Despite lung conditions, most of our PD patients had mild symptoms: 7 patients were clinically asymptomatic (58.3%); 3 patients had fever, cough, and myalgia (25%) and 2 patients had dyspnoea (16%) that needed high-flow oxygen therapy. Few complications related to PD were seen. All patients were discharged after a mean hospitalisation period of 30 days. Mortality rate during hospitalisation was zero. Our findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection does not have a poor prognosis in patients with PD. More extensive data and evaluations, however, are needed to confirm our data, and caution is warranted.