[HIV occupational infections in gynecology: risk assessment, post-exposure management, and drug prophylaxis]. / Infezione professionale da HIV in ginecologia: stima del rischio, gestione post-esposizione e profilassi farmacologica.

The average risk of HIV infection after percutaneous exposure to HIV-infected blood is 0.3%. Higher risk factors of HIV transmission to health care worker after percutaneous exposure are deep injury, visible blood on device, procedure involving needle in artery or vein and terminal: Illness in source patient or high viremia. It has been shown that post-exposure use of zidovudine diminishes risk of transmission. In Italy 5 occupational HIV infections in health care workers have been documented. Although prevention of exposure to blood is the best method to avoid occupational risk of HIV infection, nevertheless an adequate management of blood-borne exposure is essential for achieving a safer health care workplace. In this paper we reviewed the modality and the frequency of blood-borne exposures in Italian health care setting, focusing on in obstetric and gynaecology. Finally, Italian recommendation for the management of blood-born exposure, including post-exposure chemoprophylaxis are discussed.

[Frequency and practice of prescribing prenatal HIV tests during pregnancy]. / Frequenza e modalità di prescrizione del test anti-HIV "per gravidanza" nelle puerpere.

BACKGROUND: To assess frequency and practices of antenatal HIV testing. METHODS: Cross-sectional study. Site: obstetric units of San Paolo Hospital, Milan (teaching, public, 60 beds, 1500 deliveries/years, reference centre for HIV and pregnancy) and of Sandro Pertini Hospital, Rome (public, urban, 36 beds, 1500 deliveries/year). PARTICIPANTS: parturients consecutively admitted for delivery, in the last three months of 1997. INTERVENTION: interview by a structured questionnaire. Out-comes: frequency and practices of antenatal HIV testing. RESULTS: About 79% of the 500 parturients admitted at the San Paolo Hospital and 57% of the 300 at the Pertini Hospital had been tested for HIV during the current pregnancy (p < 0.001). Overall, in 91% of cases (507/555) the test has been requested by the woman's gynecologist with other antenatal tests. Discussion on HIV testing, infection and pregnancy lasted less than 5 minutes in 92% of San Paolo parturients, and in almost all (99.4%) of the Pertini women. Women in the San Paolo hospital had HIV information available by leaflets in 47% of cases in comparison to 35% of those at the Pertini hospital. CONCLUSIONS: In Italy, HIV testing seems to be routinely included in the management of pregnancy, although the uptake and practices of offering the test seem not always appropriate. The higher uptake and the better practice seem to correlate with the higher involvement of San Paolo hospital in the fields of HIV infection in pregnancy. However, the reported overall 71% of tested parturients suggests that in Italy we are still far away from a universal antenatal HIV testing. Specific guidelines should be issued in order to implement and to uniform universal antenatal HIV testing, and to optimize the management of infected women.

Do chemokines play a role in HIV-1 heterosexual transmission? Susceptibility to HIV infection.

The probability of HIV transmission depends on the infectiousness of the infected partner, the susceptibility of the healthy partner, and the biological characteristics of HIV strains. A substantial role is attributable to the individual HIV susceptibility, which is affected by immunological and genetic factors. Among genetic factors, the chemokine receptor CCR5 has been thoroughly studied. CCR5 is a co-receptor for fusion and entry of macrophage-tropic variants of HIV-1, which are involved in sexual transmission. Consistent evidence shows that the absence of cell-surface expression of the HIV co-receptor CCR5, due to a homozygous 32 base pair deletion, renders individuals highly resistant to infection by macrophage-tropic HIV strains. Therefore, knowledge of this and of other genetic and immunologic factors that affect HIV-1 transmission is essential in understanding HIV-1 entry into cells, developing strategies for combating HIV-1 transmission and spread, and implementing new models for HIV-1 therapies and, hopefully, vaccines.

[Testing for HIV infection in pregnant women at the obstetric centers in Italy]. / Accertamenti per l'infezione da HIV nelle donne in gravidanza nei centri ostetrici italiani.

BACKGROUND: To assess antenatal HIV testing policy implemented in Italian obstetric centres. METHODS: Cross-sectional study, Site and Participants: Italian obstetric centres. INTERVENTION: structured postal questionnaire. Out-comes: policies and practices of antenatal HIV testing in Italian obstetric centres. RESULTS: A total of 213 centres, accounting for a total of 167.927 deliveries/year (30% of the Italian number of deliveries) filed out the questionnaire. Of these, 45% reported having a policy on HIV antenatal testing. Having a policy on antenatal testing is associated to the number of observed HIV-positive women. HIV testing is offered to all women in 89% of centres, included in routine antenatal tests in 67%, with an opt out (57.5%) or on opt in (10.5%) on request. HIV testing is performed at the initial clinic visit in 78% of centres; it is offered routinely to male partners in 7.5% of centres. Amongst centres which observed HIV-positive pregnant women, 47% reported zidovudine is not available as a measure of HIV vertical transmission prevention. CONCLUSIONS: In Italy, HIV testing seems to be routinely included in management of pregnancy, although the practices of offering the test seem not always appropriate and the availability of measures for reducing the risk of vertical transmission not adequate. Specific guidelines should be issued in order to implement and to uniform universal antenatal HIV testing, and to optimize the management of infected women.

Temporal trends in reasons for and result of HIV-testing among women in Rome, Italy.

To describe the trend in the reasons for and result of women's HIV testing, systematic data was gathered for 11,523 consecutive women during pre-and post-test visits at a major counseling and testing (CT) site of Rome, Italy, June 1985-July 1996. The number of tested women and the proportion of female clients attending the CT site significantly increased during the study period (p < 0.001), mostly because of reported sexual risk or when triggered by pregnancy. A significant increasing trend in the proportion of women who had one prior test (30% overall) was observed in all groups, apart from IDU. Newly diagnosed HIV infections were 319 (2.8%). The HIV prevalence was 27% in 1985-1987, when 66.7% of cases were IDUs, and decreased to 1.3% in 1994-1996, when 53.7% of cases were women reporting HIV infected partners. The findings suggest that information on the potential risk of HIV transmission has permeated the female population. The shift of newly diagnosed infections from IDUs towards women reporting sexual exposure, suggests the need for targeting preventive efforts to these population groups. Underlying reasons for multiple testing need further analysis.

Association between HIV-1 infection and miscarriage: a retrospective study. DIANAIDS Collaborative Study Group. Diagnosi Iniziale Anomalie Neoplastiche AIDS.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the role of HIV-1 infection on miscarriage, we compared the obstetric histories of a cohort of HIV-1-infected and uninfected Italian women. DESIGN: Retrospective study. METHODS: The study participants were women (with at least one reproductive event) with HIV-1 infection or HIV-1-negative sharing the same exposure modalities; all women were attending a network of 16 infectious disease units in 12 Italian cities. Trained interviewers used a standard questionnaire to collect information on obstetric history [i.e., number of pregnancies, pregnancy outcome (live birth, spontaneous or induced abortion) and time of occurrence of these events (i.e., year of birth)]. The association between spontaneous abortion and HIV-1 status at the time of pregnancy was evaluated. RESULTS: The analysis included 272 women and accounted for 480 pregnancies (217 in HIV-infected women, 132 in uninfected women and 131 in women with undefined HIV status) and 60 miscarriages (23 in HIV-infected women, 22 in uninfected women and 15 in women with undefined HIV status). We estimated an adjusted odds ratio of 1.67 between spontaneous abortion and HIV-1 infection. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a 67% increase in risk of spontaneous abortion among HIV-1-infected women compared with HIV-1-negative women. This result should be considered in the counselling and management of women with HIV-1 infection who are of reproductive age.

Women attending human immunodeficiency virus counselling and testing site because of pregnancy, and prevalence of newly diagnosed infections.

To evaluate the trend of and the reason for women attending HIV counselling and testing (CT) because of pregnancy or pregnancy planning, and the observed human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence rate, systematic data was gathered during free pre- and posttest discussion, at a major CT site of Rome, Italy, from July 1985 to June 1996. A total of 3608 women were enrolled, increasing from 0.9% of the total number of female clients in 1986 to 34.6% in 1996. Most women (92.5%) were referred by gynaecologists, mostly without reported risk factors for HIV infection. In 22.5% of cases the test was performed after the first trimester of pregnancy. Prior tested women increased significantly from 6.7% in 1989 to 33.4% in the first half of 1996. Two thirds of women reported their current partners were not tested for HIV. Thirteen (0.36%) newly diagnosed women were observed; four were not aware of being at risk. In Italy HIV testing seems to have been included as a part of routine prenatal care. Efforts should be made to optimise the period when testing is performed. Universal counselling and testing of the couple could be the appropriate way to recognise most cases of newly diagnosed HIV infection.

HIV infection increases the risk of squamous intra-epithelial lesions in women with HPV infection: an analysis of HPV genotypes. DIANAIDS Collaborative Study Group.

We assessed the association between different HPV genotypes, HIV infection, and cervical squamous intra-epithelial lesions (SIL) in 236 women with known HIV serostatus enrolled in a longitudinal multicentric study in Italy. Of these women, 135 were HIV-infected, and were not markedly different from HIV-negative women with regard to demographic characteristics, sexual practices, smoking, or intravenous drug use. We obtained 232 cervical smears suitable for cytological examination and HPV-genotype analysis (134 from HIV-positive women and 98 from HIV-negative women). For 86 HIV-positive and 89 HIV-negative women, the smears appeared normal at cytomorphological analysis. Cytological dysplasia of varying degrees was detected in 48 smears from HIV-positive women and in 9 from HIV-negative women. HPV prevalence, assessed using polymerase-chain-reaction analysis, did not significantly differ between HIV-positive and HIV-negative women. The prevalence of HPV-associated SIL was much greater among HIV-infected women. The most frequently detected genotypes in both groups were HPV 16 and HPV 18. The prevalence of HPV 16 among HIV-positive women was similar to that for HIV-negative women; this was also true for HPV 18. However, in the HIV-positive group, most of these genotypes were associated with SIL. HIV-positive women showed a wider spectrum of genotypes, including non-oncogenic and rare types. An association between SIL and HIV infection was confirmed for all HPV genotype classes.

Determinants of squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) on Pap smear: the role of HPV infection and of HIV-1-induced immunosuppression. DIANAIDS Collaborative Study Group.

This study aimed to identify risk factors for squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) in women with known HIV status and to explore the association between SIL, HPV subtype, and HIV-induced immunosuppression. The study population consisted of women with known HIV serological status who were attending a network of 16 clinical centres in Italy. Detailed behavioural data, clinical and laboratory parameters, and samples for diagnosis of SIL by Papanicolau smear and HPV infection using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were obtained from each study participant. The strength of the association between SIL and possible risk factors was assessed calculating crude and adjusted odds ratios derived from univariate analysis and multivariate models. We enrolled 236 women, of whom 135 (57.2%) were HIV-infected. SIL was diagnosed in 57 women (24.1%); of these, 48 (35.6%) were HIV-infected and 9 (8.9%) were HIV-negative. HPV-DNA was detected in 41 (72%) women with SIL and in 45 (25%) women without SIL. HPV-DNA was more often detected among HIV-infected women than among HIV-negative women (40% vs. 32%), but the difference was not statistically significant. Women infected with high-risk types or with low-risk-uncharacterised types of HPV both had a higher risk of SIL compared with HPV-negative women (respectively, AOR: 17.53 and AOR: 2.89). HIV-infected women with severe or moderate immunosuppression were more likely to have SIL than HIV-negative women (respectively, AOR: 7.29 and AOR: 3.09) also independently from HPV infection. Women reporting use of a contraceptive pill had a 2.5 times higher risk of SIL compared with those who never used hormonal contraceptives. The results confirm that high-risk HPV types are strongly associated with SIL, and that HIV infection may strengthen the effect of HPV at cervical level. The use of oral contraceptives may slightly increase the risk of SIL in women with at-risk behaviour for HIV infection.

[Frequency and mode of use of testing for HIV infection in women hospitalized for childbirth]. / Frequenza e modalità di utilizzo del test anti-HIV in donne ricoverate per l'espletamento del parto.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the use of HIV testing "because of pregnancy". DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. PATIENTS: Parturients admitted to the obstetric divisions of a public hospital located in Rome (February-April 1994). INTERVENTION: Standardized interview during post test counseling. OUT-COMES: Frequency and characteristics of HIV testing "because of pregnancy" and women's know ledge on HIV sexual and vertical transmission. RESULTS: Among the 506 women admitted all consented to be tested and 3 were found HIV seropositive (0.6%). A total of 239 (47%) unselected parturients were interviewed; the remaining differ only for a lower rate of cesarean delivery (13% vs 54%). Of the interviewed, 140 (58%) had been already tested for HIV infection, 91 (38%) during the current pregnancy according to gynaecologist's prescription (79.87%) and without counseling (55.60%) or ascertained risk factors (82.90%); 40% had been tested after the first trimester of pregnancy. Rate of vertical transmission was estimated higher than 50% in 147 cases; 150 women knew the "window period" but less than half estimated it correctly. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed a unsatisfactory use of HIV testing "because of pregnancy" and suggests the need for implementing in Italy information campaigns targeted both to women and gynecologists.

[The knowledge, attitudes and practice in regard to the risk for occupational HIV infection in a group of gynecologists from 3 Italian regions]. / Conoscenze, atteggiamenti e pratica sul rischio di infezione professionale da HIV in un gruppo di ginecologi di tre regioni italiane.

The risk of occupational infection by blood-borne pathogens has been well evaluated. However, a low perception of this risk among health care workers (HCWs) and a low compliance to infection control measures has been documented by several studies. During a meeting of gynecologists of Southern Italy, a survey of knowledge, attitudes and practices (K.A.P.) on HIV and other blood-borne viral infections was conducted among 143 obstetricians-gynecologists. 133 (93%) HCWs answered the questionnaire. 81% of them recalled almost one occupational exposure during their career and 54% almost two in the past year. Our data suggest a low knowledge about HIV and the other blood-borne viral infections and Universal Precautions (UP): only 16% of HCWs knew the rate of vertical transmission of HIV, less than 15% knew the rate of seroconversion after occupational exposure to HBV and HCV, and finally only 33% knew to which body fluids apply UP. Moreover, 93.7% of HCWs believed that HIV antibody screening of all patients is an effective strategy to reduce the risk of occupation HIV infection. More than 90% of gynecologists used to request HIV-antibodies to pregnant women, 21% after the first trimester. Although HCWs interviewed can not be considered representative of Italian gynecologists, our data suggest the need of an intensive training to increase gynecologists' knowledge about HIV, other blood-borne pathogens and the risk of occupational infections also in order to modify attitudes and practices.

Intranasal salmon calcitonin in postmenopausal osteoporosis: effect of different therapeutic regimens on vertebral and peripheral bone density.

Sixty postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to three types of treatment with intranasal salmon calcitonin (SCT) plus calcium 500 mg daily (group A: 100 IU daily of SCT; group B: 100 IU daily of SCT for alternate cycles of 2 months with a 1-month interval; group C: 100 IU daily of SCT for alternate cycles of 3 months of treatment followed by a 3-month interval) or calcium 500 mg daily alone (control group). Lumbar density significantly decreased in the control group while it maintained the initial value in both continuously or cyclically treated groups. The bone density of the proximal and distal forearm in treated and control groups did not show significant changes after 12 months.