Trends in the epidemiology of catheter-related bloodstream infections; towards a paradigm shift, Spain, 2007 to 2019.

BackgroundCatheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI) are frequent healthcare-associated infections and an important cause of death.AimTo analyse changes in CRBSI epidemiology observed by the Infection Control Catalan Programme (VINCat).MethodsA cohort study including all hospital-acquired CRBSI episodes diagnosed at 55 hospitals (2007-2019) in Catalonia, Spain, was prospectively conducted. CRBSI incidence rates were adjusted per 1,000 patient days. To assess the CRBSI rate trend per year, negative binomial models were used, with the number of events as the dependent variable, and the year as the main independent variable. From each model, the annual rate of CRBSI diagnosed per 1,000 patient days and the incidence rate ratio (IRR) with its 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported.ResultsDuring the study, 9,290 CRBSI episodes were diagnosed (mean annual incidence rate: 0.20 episodes/1,000 patient days). Patients' median age was 64.1 years; 36.6% (3,403/9,290) were female. In total, 73.7% (n = 6,845) of CRBSI occurred in non-intensive care unit (ICU) wards, 62.7% (n = 5,822) were related to central venous catheter (CVC), 24.1% (n = 2,236) to peripheral venous catheters (PVC) and 13.3% (n = 1,232) to peripherally-inserted central venous catheters (PICVC). Incidence rate fell over the study period (IRR: 0.94; 95%CI: 0.93-0.96), especially in the ICU (IRR: 0.88; 95%CI: 0.87-0.89). As a whole, while episodes of CVC CRBSI fell significantly (IRR: 0.88; 95%CI: 0.87-0.91), peripherally-inserted catheter CRBSI (PVC and PICVC) rose, especially in medical wards (IRR PICVC: 1.08; 95%CI: 1.05-1.11; IRR PVC: 1.03; 95% 1.00-1.05).ConclusionsOver the study, CRBSIs associated with CVC and diagnosed in ICUs decreased while episodes in conventional wards involving peripherally-inserted catheters increased. Hospitals should implement preventive measures in conventional wards.

Direct-acting antivirals are effective and safe in HCV/HIV-coinfected liver transplant recipients who experience recurrence of hepatitis C: A prospective nationwide cohort study.

Direct-acting antivirals have proved to be highly efficacious and safe in monoinfected liver transplant (LT) recipients who experience recurrence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, there is a lack of data on effectiveness and tolerability of these regimens in HCV/HIV-coinfected patients who experience recurrence of HCV infection after LT. In this prospective, multicenter cohort study, the outcomes of 47 HCV/HIV-coinfected LT patients who received DAA therapy (with or without ribavirin [RBV]) were compared with those of a matched cohort of 148 HCV-monoinfected LT recipients who received similar treatment. Baseline characteristics were similar in both groups. HCV/HIV-coinfected patients had a median (IQR) CD4 T-cell count of 366 (256-467) cells/µL. HIV-RNA was <50 copies/mL in 96% of patients. The DAA regimens administered were SOF + LDV ± RBV (34%), SOF + SMV ± RBV (31%), SOF + DCV ± RBV (27%), SMV + DCV ± RBV (5%), and 3D (3%), with no differences between the groups. Treatment was well tolerated in both groups. Rates of SVR (negative serum HCV-RNA at 12 weeks after the end of treatment) were high and similar for coinfected and monoinfected patients (95% and 94%, respectively; P = .239). Albeit not significant, a trend toward lower SVR rates among patients with advanced fibrosis (P = .093) and genotype 4 (P = .088) was observed. In conclusion, interferon-free regimens with DAAs for post-LT recurrence of HCV infection in HIV-infected individuals were highly effective and well tolerated, with results comparable to those of HCV-monoinfected patients.

Neurological involvement in patients with acute/recent HIV-1 infection. A case-control study.

Primary HIV-1 infection is a relevant period for its virological and epidemiological consequences. Most patients present a symptomatic disease that can be potentially serious, but neurological involvement during primary HIV-1 infection has been poorly studied. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics and outcomes of primary HIV-1 infection patients presenting neurological symptoms and to compare them with primary HIV-1 infection patients without neurological involvement. Retrospective case-control study (1:3) comparing primary HIV-1 infection patients with and without neurological involvement enrolled in the Acute/Recent Hospital Clinic PHI Cohort between 1997 and 2016. Matching criteria included age (±10 years), gender, year of diagnosis (±4 years), and Fiebig stage. The conditional logit model was used for comparisons. Fourteen out of 463 patients (3.02%) enrolled in the Acute/Recent Hospital Clinic PHI Cohort between 1997 and 2016 presented neurological symptoms. 28.5% of cases presented as meningitis and 71.5% as meningoencephalitis. Cerebrospinal fluid showed non-specific findings, including pleocytosis with lymphocyte predominance and increased protein levels. All cases required hospitalisation, whereas only 19% of the controls did. No other pathogen was identified in any case, but five patients initiated empirically antimicrobial treatment for other aetiologies until diagnosis was confirmed. CD4/CD8 ratio was significantly lower (p = 0.039) and plasmatic viral load significantly higher in the case group, compared to controls (p = 0.028). Risk factors, HIV-1 tropism, subtype distribution, and prescribed ART regimens were comparable between cases and controls. After 6 months on ART, 92% of cases had undetectable viral load, similar to controls, and CD4/CD8 ratio became also comparable between groups. All cases recovered rapidly with ART and were discharged without sequels. Neurological involvement during primary HIV-1 infection is unusual but serious, always requiring hospitalisation. Diagnosis is difficult because of the wide range of symptoms and similarities with other viral aetiologies. Neurological manifestations during primary HIV-1 infection are associated with a lower CD4/CD8 ratio and with a higher viral load than controls. Immediate ART initiation and rapid viral load decrease are required, allowing complete clinical recovery.

Tolerability of integrase inhibitors in a real-life setting.

Background: Integrase inhibitors have shown better tolerability than other drugs in clinical trials, but some post-marketing data have suggested potential differences among them. Aims: We compared rates and reasons for discontinuation of raltegravir-, elvitegravir- and dolutegravir-based regimens in a large cohort of HIV-infected patients. Methods: Retrospective analysis of a prospectively followed cohort including all antiretroviral-naive and all virologically suppressed antiretroviral-experienced patients prescribed a first regimen containing raltegravir, elvitegravir or dolutegravir with at least one follow-up visit. Major outcomes were early discontinuation (≤1 year) due to any reason and more specifically due to toxicity. Incidence was calculated as number of episodes per 1000 person-years. Risk factors for discontinuation were assessed by multivariate Cox models. Results: Early discontinuations due to any reason were 271 (raltegravir), 168 (elvitegravir) and 264 (dolutegravir) per 1000 patient-years ( P = 0.0821). Early discontinuations due to toxicity were 76 (raltegravir), 103 (elvitegravir) and 81 (dolutegravir) per 1000 patient-years ( P = 0.6792). Overall, the most common toxicities leading to discontinuation were neuropsychiatric, osteomuscular or digestive. Most frequent neuropsychiatric manifestations reported at discontinuation were insomnia, dizziness, headache and anxiety irrespective of the integrase inhibitor. Among discontinuations due to toxicity, neuropsychiatric effects were more common with dolutegravir than with raltegravir or elvitegravir ( P = 0.0046). Age (HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.02-1.07, P = 0.0007) was the only independent risk factor for early discontinuation due to toxicity. Conclusions: Discontinuations due to any reason tended to be less common with elvitegravir, but discontinuations due to toxicity did not differ among integrase inhibitors. Neuropsychiatric toxicity leading to drug discontinuation was more frequent with dolutegravir.

Risk of Cause-Specific Death in Individuals With Diabetes: A Competing Risks Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Diabetes is a common cause of shortened life expectancy. We aimed to assess the association between diabetes and cause-specific death. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We used the pooled analysis of individual data from 12 Spanish population cohorts with 10-year follow-up. Participants had no previous history of cardiovascular diseases and were 35-79 years old. Diabetes status was self-reported or defined as glycemia >125 mg/dL at baseline. Vital status and causes of death were ascertained by medical records review and linkage with the official death registry. The hazard ratios and cumulative mortality function were assessed with two approaches, with and without competing risks: proportional subdistribution hazard (PSH) and cause-specific hazard (CSH), respectively. Multivariate analyses were fitted for cardiovascular, cancer, and noncardiovascular noncancer deaths. RESULTS: We included 55,292 individuals (15.6% with diabetes and overall mortality of 9.1%). The adjusted hazard ratios showed that diabetes increased mortality risk: 1) cardiovascular death, CSH = 2.03 (95% CI 1.63-2.52) and PSH = 1.99 (1.60-2.49) in men; and CSH = 2.28 (1.75-2.97) and PSH = 2.23 (1.70-2.91) in women; 2) cancer death, CSH = 1.37 (1.13-1.67) and PSH = 1.35 (1.10-1.65) in men; and CSH = 1.68 (1.29-2.20) and PSH = 1.66 (1.25-2.19) in women; and 3) noncardiovascular noncancer death, CSH = 1.53 (1.23-1.91) and PSH = 1.50 (1.20-1.89) in men; and CSH = 1.89 (1.43-2.48) and PSH = 1.84 (1.39-2.45) in women. In all instances, the cumulative mortality function was significantly higher in individuals with diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes is associated with premature death from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and noncardiovascular noncancer causes. The use of CSH and PSH provides a comprehensive view of mortality dynamics in a population with diabetes.