Risk factors for 'unmasking immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome' presentation of tuberculosis following combination antiretroviral therapy initiation in HIV-infected patients.

OBJECTIVE: To determine characteristics and risk factors for unmasking tuberculosis (TB)-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) following initiation of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in HIV-infected patients, which have not yet been assessed to date. DESIGN: Retrospective single-center cohort study. METHODS: Medical records of HIV-infected patients diagnosed with tuberculosis following cART initiation were reviewed. Cases of unmasking IRIS were identified using provisional consensus definitions. Characteristics of patients with and without unmasking TB-IRIS were compared. A case-control design was used to identify risk factors for unmasking TB-IRIS in patients initiating cART. RESULTS: Among 47 patients on cART at TB diagnosis, 11 experienced unmasking IRIS (23%). They had lower CD4% (9 vs. 14, P=0.02), higher HIV-RNA load at baseline (5.2 vs. 4.0 log, P=0.005), and a stronger CD4% increase with HIV-RNA decline after 1 month on cART (+7 vs. +3 log, P=0.02, and -3.2 vs. -0.8 log, P=0.005) than the 36 remaining patients without unmasking IRIS. In the case-control study, risk factors for unmasking IRIS were African country of origin (65 vs. 18%, P=0.007), higher baseline HIV-RNA load (5.2 vs. 4.7 log, P=0.01), stronger CD4% increase (+7 vs. +2, P=0.0001), and HIV-RNA decline of more than 3 log after 1 month on cART (73 vs. 27%, P=0.02). CONCLUSION: Patients with African origins, advanced HIV infection, or a strong response to cART are at greater risk of unmasking TB-IRIS.

Incidence of lipodystrophy and metabolic disorders in patients starting non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors in Benin.

BACKGROUND: The incidence and risk factors for lipodystrophy and metabolic disorders among patients in Africa on first-line combined antiretroviral treatment (cART) mostly containing non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors is poorly documented. METHODS: This prospective cohort study recruited 88 HIV-infected patients initiating cART between October 2004 and June 2005 in Cotonou, Benin. Patients were followed for 24 months. The main outcomes were incidence of lipodystrophy and metabolic disorders. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to describe factors associated with progression to lipodystrophy. RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 23.2 months (interquartile range 22.3-23.7), 24 (30%) patients developed lipodystrophy (lipoatrophy 9%, lipohypertrophy 24% and mixed pattern 2.5%). The incidence rate for lipodystrophy was estimated to 1.72 per person-month (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.15-2.56) occurring after a median time of 11 months on cART. Metabolic syndrome (International Diabetes Federation definition) appeared in 10 (13%) patients after a median of 15 months with an estimated incidence rate of 0.62 per person-month (95% CI 0.33-1.16). It was more common in women (19.2% versus 3.1% in men; P=0.043). Diabetes (8%) and hypercholesterolaemia (35%) were also observed. After adjustment, gender, young age (hazard ratio [HR] 0.45 [95% CI 0.22-0.90]; P=0.025), high BMI at inclusion (HR 1.53 [95% CI 1.28-1.83]; P<0.0001) and smoking (HR 28.0 [95% CI 2.5-307.4]; P=0.006) were significantly associated with lipohypertrophy. CONCLUSIONS: Lipodystrophy and metabolic syndrome were commonly and rapidly observed in this cohort of sub-Saharan patients initiating cART.

Staphylococcus aureus brain abscess in an HIV-infected patient exposed to enfuvirtide.

Brain abscesses are common among HIV-infected immunocompromised patients. Encephalitis caused by Toxoplasma gondii infection has to be presumed, on which treatment is initiated. The authors report an unusual case of a brain abscess caused by Staphylococcus aureus in an HIV-infected patient exposed to enfuvirtide, for which this empirical strategy failed.

Efficacy of intermittent preventive treatment versus chloroquine prophylaxis to prevent malaria during pregnancy in Benin.

BACKGROUND: In West Africa, treatment for the prevention of malaria during pregnancy has recently changed from chloroquine (CQ) prophylaxis to intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp). We assessed the benefits of IPTp with respect to those of CQ, using a before-after study. METHODS: CQ efficacy was evaluated during a cross-sectional survey conducted in Benin between April 2004 and April 2005. IPTp efficacy was assessed using data from an ongoing clinical trial to compare sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine with mefloquine that began in the same maternity clinics during July 2005; the present analysis is limited to women who delivered between November 2005 and November 2006. Treatment assignments were not unblinded. We compared the efficacy of the 2 strategies against low birth weight and placental infection by performing multiple logistic regressions. RESULTS: A total of 1699 women (1090 in the CQ group and 609 in the IPTp group) who delivered live singletons were analyzed. Characteristics of women in the CQ group were similar to those of women in the IPTp group. We showed that women in the IPTp group had a significantly decreased risk of delivering an infant with a low birth weight (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.54; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.38-0.78) and placental infection (aOR, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.09-0.24). CONCLUSION: We clearly evidenced that IPTp is substantially more beneficial than CQ for the prevention of malaria during pregnancy.

Predicting pneumonia and influenza mortality from morbidity data.

BACKGROUND: Few European countries conduct reactive surveillance of influenza mortality, whereas most monitor morbidity. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We developed a simple model based on Poisson seasonal regression to predict excess cases of pneumonia and influenza mortality during influenza epidemics, based on influenza morbidity data and the dominant types/subtypes of circulating viruses. Epidemics were classified in three levels of mortality burden ("high", "moderate" and "low"). The model was fitted on 14 influenza seasons and was validated on six subsequent influenza seasons. Five out of the six seasons in the validation set were correctly classified. The average absolute difference between observed and predicted mortality was 2.8 per 100,000 (18% of the average excess mortality) and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was 0.89 (P = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The method described here can be used to estimate the influenza mortality burden in countries where specific pneumonia and influenza mortality surveillance data are not available.

Is chloroquine chemoprophylaxis still effective to prevent low birth weight? Results of a study in Benin.

BACKGROUND: In areas of stable transmission, malaria during pregnancy is associated with severe maternal and foetal outcomes, especially low birth weight (LBW). To prevent these complications, weekly chloroquine (CQ) chemoprophylaxis is now being replaced by intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine in West Africa. The prevalence of placental malaria and its burden on LBW were assessed in Benin to evaluate the efficacy of weekly CQ chemoprophylaxis, prior to its replacement by intermittent preventive treatment. METHODS: In two maternity clinics in Ouidah, an observational study was conducted between April 2004 and April 2005. At each delivery, placental blood smears were examined for malaria infection and women were interviewed on their pregnancy history including CQ intake and dosage. CQ was measured in the urine of a sub-sample (n = 166). Multiple logistic and linear regression were used to assess factors associated with LBW and placental malaria. RESULTS: Among 1090 singleton live births, prevalence of placental malaria and LBW were 16% and 17% respectively. After adjustment, there was a non-significant association between placental malaria and LBW (adjusted OR = 1.43; P = 0.10). Multiple linear regression showed a positive association between placental malaria and decreased birth weight in primigravidae. More than 98% of the women reported regular chemoprophylaxis and CQ was detectable in 99% of urine samples. Protection from LBW was high in women reporting regular CQ prophylaxis, with a strong duration-effect relationship (test for linear trend: P < 0,001). CONCLUSION: Despite high parasite resistance and limited effect on placental malaria, a CQ chemoprophylaxis taken at adequate doses showed to be still effective in reducing LBW in Benin.