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A low CD4/CD8 ratio during treated HIV infection reflects heightened immune activation and predicts death. The effects of different antiretroviral therapy regimens on CD4/CD8 ratio recovery remains unclear. We performed a post hoc analysis of the MERIT study, a randomized, double-blind trial of maraviroc versus efavirenz in combination with zidovudine-lamivudine in treatment-naive HIV-infected individuals. We found higher rates of CD4/CD8 ratio normalization with efavirenz, which was driven by a greater CD8 + T-cell decline.

The increase in the immunocompromised population and the incidence of invasive aspergillosis (IA) are leading to an overinterpretation of the potential clinical significance of many isolates of Aspergillus fumigatus . Our work prospectively assesses the workload of the isolation of A. fumigatus and its clinical significance in the microbiology laboratory of a large teaching hospital. During a 3-year period, all patients from whom A. fumigatus was isolated were prospectively monitored and classified as having IA or “nonsignificant” disease. A point score based on the prediction of five easily obtained laboratory and clinical parameters was applied. We found 404 A. fumigatus isolates in 260 patients (1/1,000 microbiology laboratory samples; 2.1 patients/10,000 admissions). A total of 90 isolates (22.3%) were from patients with IA. Of the 260 patients, 31 (12%) had invasive disease (IA), and the remaining 229 had “nonsignificant” disease. A score based on points for five parameters was applied to our population. It was constructed as follows: “sample obtained by invasive procedures” (1 point), “presence of two or more positive samples from the same patient” (1 point), “leukemia” (2 points), “neutropenia” (5 points), and “corticosteroid treatment” (2 points). Patients with a score of 0 had only a 2.5% probability of IA. Those with a score of 1 or 2 had an increased probability of 10.3%. The probabilities rose to 40% and 70%, respectively, for patients with a score of 3 or 4 or a score of ≥5. A simple score based on five easily available parameters may be of help to microbiologists and clinicians to predict the risk of IA.

Trypanosoma cruziserological screening is recommended for people potentially exposed to this parasite in countries whereTrypanosoma cruziis endemic and those where it is not endemic. Blood samples on filter paper may be a practical alternative to plasma/serum for antibody detection. Using the Architect Chagas assay, we detected the presence of IgG againstT. cruziin matched serum and dried blood spots (DBS) collected from 147 patients residing in Madrid, Spain, who had potential previous exposure toT. cruzi. The κ statistic for the DBS/serum proportion of agreement for the detection of antibodies againstT. cruziwas 0.803, considering an S/CO (assay result unit; chemiluminescent signal from the sample [S] divided by the mean chemiluminescent signal for the three calibrators used in the test [CO]) cutoff value of ≥1.00. The relative sensitivity of the Architect test using DBS increased from 95.2% to 98.8% when the cutoff was lowered from ≥1.00 to ≥0.88, while the relative specificity decreased from 84.1% to 71.6%. Overall, the median S/CO values for DBS were significantly lower than those for serum (2.6 versus 6.5;P< 0.001). Discrepancies that occurred with the use of DBS included 10 false positives (with low S/CO values in 9 cases [median, 2.13]) and 4 false negatives, with mean S/CO values of 0.905 (gray zone). Using DBS plus a highly sensitive and specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) may be a simple and reliable method for detecting IgG againstT. cruziwhen blood sampling by venipuncture is not feasible. This method may also reduce the false-negative rates observed with some rapid diagnostic tests. The lower relative sensitivity compared to the reference method may be increased by lowering the optical density threshold.

A prospective, open, and randomized study of right-sided endocarditis caused by Staphylococcus aureus in drug abuse patients is reported. The following parenteral treatments were compared. Group A patients were treated with 2 g of cloxacillin every 4 h and 1.5 mg of gentamicin per kg of body weight every 8 h for 2 weeks. Group B patients were treated with teicoplanin at 10 mg/kg/12 h on the 1st to 3rd days, 6 mg/kg/12 h on the 4th to 7th days, and 7 mg/kg/24 h on the 8th days. Drug abusers with bacteremia caused by S. aureus and suggestive signs of endocarditis were included. Clinical failures were observed in one patient in group A and in four of six patients in group B. Three patients in group B developed breakthrough bacteremia with teicoplanin-susceptible strains on days +6, +14, and +19. Serum teicoplanin levels and serum bactericidal titers showed a decrease in the 2nd week, when dosages received were 7 mg/kg/day. In conclusion, in treatment of right-sided endocarditis caused by S. aureus in drug abusers with teicoplanin, the use of dosages of 7 mg/kg/day is not recommended even if patients have received dosages of 12 mg/kg/day during the 1st week.