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Objectives: Screening HIV-infected men for gonorrhoea (GC) and chlamydia (CT) may decrease HIV transmission and reduce the incidence of pelvic inflammatory disease in female partners. This study determined GC/CT testing rates in a clinical HIV cohort before and after 2003 when the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines for GC/CT screening.Methods: First GC/CT testing episodes were identified for all men enrolling in a Baltimore HIV clinic from 1999 to 2007. Multivariate Cox and logistic regression were used to assess clinical and demographic factors associated with being tested and with having a positive result.Results: Among 1110 men, the rate of GC/CT testing upon clinic enrollment increased from 4.0% prior to 2003 to 16.5% afterwards, and the rate of ever being tested increased from 34.2% to 49.1% (p<0.001 for both comparisons). Among men with same sex contact, 10% of first testing episodes included extragenital sites. Among the 342 men ever-tested, 5.2% had positive results on first testing. Predictors of testing included enrolling after 2003, younger age, frequent visits and black race. Predictors of a positive test result included CD4 count ≥ 200 cells/mm(3) and younger age.Conclusions: GC/CT testing rates among men increased substantially after the 2003 guidelines but remain low. Disseminating existing evidence for GC/CT screening and promoting operational interventions to facilitate it are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines how virologic response to highly active antiretroviral therapy has changed in clinical practice since 1996 by observing HIV-infected patients under care in Baltimore, Maryland. Improvements in suppressing HIV RNA; Changes in patients' CD4 cell response; Increase in the use of a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor.

This study assessed the association between longitudinal patterns of illicit drug use and clinical progression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease. Confidential computer-based interviews, which addressed illicit drug use and other factors, were completed by HIV-infected participants in Baltimore, Maryland, at 6-month intervals from 1998 onward. To assess this association, the authors used a random-effects model in which clinically defined opportunistic conditions were linked to self-reported periods of drug use, enabling four categories of drug use to be distinguished: nonusers, intermittent users during abstinent periods, intermittent users during active periods, and persistent users. Included in the analysis were 1,851 participants who completed > or = 1 survey. For participants who used drugs intermittently over time, the risk of developing new opportunistic conditions during periods of abstinence was similar to that for those who never used drugs (odds ratio = 1.2, 95% confidence interval: 0.9, 1.7). In contrast, compared with that for nonusers, the risk of opportunistic infection was significantly higher for intermittent drug users during periods of active use (odds ratio = 2.2, 95% confidence interval: 1.4, 2.9) and for persistent drug users (odds ratio = 1.9, 95% confidence interval: 1.2, 2.8). Active drug use is temporally linked to HIV disease progression and mortality. Effectively targeting and treating active substance abuse in HIV treatment settings may provide a mechanism to improve clinical outcomes.