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Background: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a leading cause of premature death and disability in low-income countries; however, few receive optimal benzathine penicillin G (BPG) therapy to prevent disease progression. We aimed to comprehensively describe the treatment cascade for RHD in Uganda to identify appropriate targets for intervention., Methods and Results: Using data from the Uganda RHD Registry (n=1504), we identified the proportion of patients in the following care categories: (1) diagnosed and alive as of June 1, 2016; (2) retained in care; (3) appropriately prescribed BPG; and (4) optimally adherent to BPG (>80% of prescribed doses). We used logistic regression to investigate factors associated with retention and optimal adherence. Overall, median (interquartile range) age was 23 (15-38) years, 69% were women, and 82% had clinical RHD. Median follow-up time was 2.4 (0.9-4.0) years. Retention in care was the most significant barrier to achieving optimal BPG adherence with only 56.9% (95% confidence interval, 54.1%-59.7%) of living subjects having attended clinic in the prior 56 weeks. Among those retained in care, however, we observed high rates of BPG prescription (91.6%; 95% confidence interval, 89.1%-93.5%) and optimal adherence (91.4%; 95% confidence interval, 88.7-93.5). Younger age, latent disease status, and access to care at a regional center were the strongest independent predictors of retention and optimal adherence., Conclusions: Our study suggests that improving retention in care-possibly by decentralizing RHD services-would have the greatest impact on uptake of antibiotic prophylaxis among patients with RHD in Uganda., (© 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.)

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) living with HIV have high rates of co-sexually transmitted infections (STIs). During the coronavirus disease (COVID) pandemic, STI prevention strategies, including access to testing/treatment facilities, availability of health care workers, and condom availability, may have decreased. This study aimed to determine if differences in STI incidence for first infection and reinfection existed between the pre-COVID and COVID eras in a cohort of AYAs living with HIV in Atlanta, GA. Retrospective chart review was conducted for all patients between ages 13 and 24 at the Grady Ponce Clinic. Two eras were identified: a pre-COVID era (January 1, 2009–December31, 2019) and a COVID era (January 1, 2020–June 30, 2021). STIs recorded included gonorrhea, chlamydia, human papillomavirus, syphilis, trichomonas, herpes simplex virus, lymphogranuloma venereum, hepatitis C, bacterial vaginosis, and chancroid. First and recurrent incidence rates for any STIs were reported. Our sample included 766 sexually active AYAs with HIV. A total of 721 patients were included in the pre-COVID era and 583 (80.9%) had at least one STI. A total of 337 patients were included in the COVID era, and 158 had at least one STI (46.9%). The overall first STI incidence rate increased from 42.47 to 58.67 per 100 person-years (PY) and the recurrent STI incidence rate increased from 121.50 to 169.85 per 100 PY from the pre-COVID to the COVID era (p < 0.001). Our study demonstrated significantly higher incidence rates of first and recurrent STIs in AYAs living with HIV in the COVID era. We urge continuation of existing STI prevention programs to avoid secondary clinical and economic adverse effects of increased infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Screening echocardiography has emerged as a potentially powerful tool for early diagnosis of rheumatic heart disease (RHD). The utility of screening echocardiography hinges on the rate of RHD progression and the ability of penicillin prophylaxis to improve outcome. We report the longitudinal outcomes of a cohort of children with latent RHD and identify risk factors for unfavorable outcomes.Methods: This was a prospective natural history study conducted under the Ugandan RHD registry. Children with latent RHD and ≥1 year of follow-up were included. All echocardiograms were re-reviewed by experts (2012 World Heart Federation criteria) for inclusion and evidence of change. Bi- and multivariable logistic regression, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and Cox proportional hazards models, as well, were developed to search for risk factors for unfavorable outcome and compare progression-free survival between those treated and not treated with penicillin. Propensity and other matching methods with sensitivity analysis were implemented for the evaluation of the penicillin effect.Results: Blinded review confirmed 227 cases of latent RHD: 164 borderline and 63 definite (42 mild, 21 moderate/severe). Median age at diagnosis was 12 years and median follow-up was 2.3 years (interquartile range, 2.0-2.9). Penicillin prophylaxis was prescribed in 49.3% with overall adherence of 84.7%. Of children with moderate-to-severe definite RHD, 47.6% had echocardiographic progression (including 2 deaths), and 9.5% had echocardiographic regression. Children with mild definite and borderline RHD showed 26% and 9.8% echocardiographic progression and 45.2% and 46.3% echocardiographic improvement, respectively. Of those with mild definite RHD or borderline RHD, more advanced disease category, younger age, and morphological mitral valve features were risk factors for an unfavorable outcome.Conclusions: Latent RHD is a heterogeneous diagnosis with variable disease outcomes. Children with moderate to severe latent RHD have poor outcomes. Children with both borderline and mild definite RHD are at substantial risk of progression. Although long-term outcome remains unclear, the initial change in latent RHD may be evident during the first 1 to 2 years following diagnosis. Natural history data are inherently limited, and a randomized clinical trial is needed to definitively determine the impact of penicillin prophylaxis on the trajectory of latent RHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]