ABSTRACT
Test and Rapid Response Treatment (TRRT) linkage programs have demonstrated improved HIV suppression rates. This paper describes the design and implementation of the Miami TRRT initiative and its clinical impact. Assisted by a dedicated care navigator, patients receiving a reactive HIV rapid test at the Florida Department of Health STD Clinic were offered same-day HIV care at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center Adult HIV Outpatient Clinic. Patient retention and labs were tracked for 12 months. Of the 2337 individuals tested, 46 had a reactive HIV test; 41 (89%) consented to participate. For the 36 patients in continued care for a year, 33 (91.7%) achieved virological suppression (< 200 copies/mL) within 70 days of their reactive HIV rapid test; at 12 months, 35 (97.2%) remained suppressed, and mean CD4 T cell counts increased from 452 ± 266 to 597 ± 322 cells/mm3. The Miami TRRT initiative demonstrated that immediate linkage to care is feasible and improves retention and suppression in a public/academic medical center in the U.S. South.
Subject(s)
Anti-HIV Agents/therapeutic use , HIV Infections/diagnosis , HIV Infections/drug therapy , Mass Screening/methods , Patient Navigation , Treatment Adherence and Compliance/psychology , Academic Medical Centers , Adult , Ambulatory Care Facilities , CD4 Lymphocyte Count , Continuity of Patient Care , Female , Florida , HIV Infections/virology , Humans , Male , Program Evaluation , Treatment Outcome , Viral LoadABSTRACT
Meningitis in individuals living with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is most frequently infectious in origin and usually due to opportunistic infections. The most common pathogens are Cryptococcus neoformans and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Treponema pallidum causes neurosyphilis and can complicate HIV infections at any time after the initial infection. Simultaneous infections of the central nervous system caused by these pathogens are very uncommon even in the setting of severe immunosuppression. We report the case of a newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS young man who was found to have neurosyphilis with Cryptococcus meningitis. After a few weeks of treatment and initiation of antiretroviral therapy, he was also diagnosed with tuberculous meningitis, which was probably unmasked by the development of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). To the best of our knowledge, this is the only case of reported neurosyphilis and meningitis caused concomitantly by Cryptococcus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
