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Substance use in people with HIV (PWH) negatively impacts antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence. However, less is known about this in the current treatment era and the impact of specific substances or severity of substance use. We examined the associations of alcohol, marijuana, and illicit drug use (methamphetamine/crystal, cocaine/crack, illicit opioids/heroin) and their severity of use with adherence using multivariable linear regression in adult PWH in care between 2016 and 2020 at 8 sites across the US. PWH completed assessments of alcohol use severity (AUDIT-C), drug use severity (modified ASSIST), and ART adherence (visual analogue scale). Among 9400 PWH, 16% reported current hazardous alcohol use, 31% current marijuana use, and 15% current use of ≥1 illicit drugs. In multivariable analysis, current methamphetamine/crystal use, particularly common among men who had sex with men, was associated with 10.1% lower mean ART adherence (p < 0.001) and 2.6% lower adherence per 5-point higher severity of use (ASSIST score) (p < 0.001). Current and more severe use of alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drugs were also associated with lower adherence in a dose-dependent manner. In the current HIV treatment era, individualized substance use treatment, especially for methamphetamine/crystal, and ART adherence should be prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background India has 2.0 million estimated tuberculosis (TB) cases per annum with an estimated 280,000 TB-related deaths per year. Understanding when in the course of TB treatment patients die is important for determining the type of intervention to be offered and crucially when this intervention should be given. The objectives of the current study were to determine in a large cohort of TB patients in India:- i) treatment outcomes including the number who died while on treatment, ii) the month of death and iii) characteristics associated with "early" death, occurring in the initial 8 weeks of treatment. Methods This was a retrospective study in 16 selected Designated Microscopy Centres (DMCs) in Hyderabad, Krishna and Adilabad districts of Andhra Pradesh, South India. A review was performed of treatment cards and medical records of all TB patients (adults and children) registered and placed on standardized anti-tuberculosis treatment from January 2005 to September 2009. Results There were 8,240 TB patients (5183 males) of whom 492 (6%) were known to have died during treatment. Case-fatality was higher in those previously treated (12%) and lower in those with extra-pulmonary TB (2%). There was an even distribution of deaths during anti-tuberculosis treatment, with 28% of all patients dying in the first 8 weeks of treatment. Increasing age and new as compared to recurrent TB disease were significantly associated with "early death". Conclusion In this large cohort of TB patients, deaths occurred with an even frequency throughout anti-TB treatment. Reasons may relate to i) the treatment of the disease itself, raising concerns about drug adherence, quality of anti-tuberculosis drugs or the presence of undetected drug resistance and ii) co-morbidities, such as HIV/AIDS and diabetes mellitus, which are known to influence mortality. More research in this area from prospective and retrospective studies is needed.

Background: Standard procedure for large renal stones (>1.5cm) is percutaneous nephrolithotomy. This standard procedure of doing percutaneous nephrolithotomy incudes placing of nephrostomy and DJ Stent and has significant pain and morbidity, which are related to these tubes. Various modifications were done to PCNL to decrease the morbidity. We report an observational study of PCNL without placing nephrostomy tubes. Aim and objectives: Aim was to study the outcomes of tubeless PCNL, evaluate the outcomes and complications with tubeless PCNL and to compare the outcomes of tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) with standard PCNL. Materials and methods: A total of 90 cases were included initially in this study with following inclusion criteria on patients with renal and/or upper ureteric calculi of greater than 1.5cm, less than equal to 3.0cm, negative urine culture and no coagulopathy. Further selection of cases was done after the PCNL procedure depending on whether procedure went uneventful. Finally 72 cases were included and 18 cases were excluded at the time of the procedure. The 18 patients who were excluded, required more than 2 tracts and had significant perforation of the collecting system and significant intra operative bleeding. The outcomes measured were the Hb drop, septic complications, pain score and analgesic need and hospital stay. G Ravi Chander, N Rama Murthy, Saptagiri Prasad, K Gopikanth, Anna Manikantanan Suresh. A Prospective Observational Study of Tubeless Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy Procedure for Renal Stones. IAIM, 2020; 7(10): 51-60. Page 52 Results: There was no significant difference in mean operative time between standard and tubeless PCNL groups. Post-operative analgesic requirement was significantly low in our study group compared to Standard PCNL. No difference was found in the incidence of Sepsis, Hb drop. The incidence of urinary leak is significantly lower in our group. Hospital stay is shorter in our study which was statistically significant. Conclusions: Tubeless PCNL can be adopted in majority of patients especially when the procedure went uneventful without much bleeding, without PCS injury and where complete clearance of the stone done with single tract. Tubeless PCNL is equally safer procedure with bleeding and sepsis complications comparable to Standard PCNL, but it has definite advantage of less post-operative pain requiring less analgesic, less post op urinary leak and most important shorter hospital stay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the HIV-infected population ages and the burden of chronic comorbidities increases, adherence to medications for HIV and diabetes and hypertension is crucial to improve outcomes. We pilot-tested a pictorial aid intervention to improve medication adherence for both HIV and common chronic conditions. Adult patients with HIV and diabetes (DM) and/or hypertension (HTN) attending a clinic for underserved patients and at risk for poor health outcomes were enrolled. Patients were randomized to receive either a pictorial aid intervention (a photographic representation of their medications, the indications, and the dosing schedule) or a standard clinic visit discharge medication list. Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV and therapy for DM or HTN was compared. Predictors of ART adherence at baseline were determined using logistic regression. Medication adherence was assessed using medication possession ratio (MPR) for the 6-month interval before and after the intervention. Change in adherence by treatment group was compared by ANOVA. Among the 46 participants, there was a trend towards higher adherence to medications for HIV compared with medications for hypertension/diabetes (baseline median MPR for ART 0.92; baseline median MPR for the medication for the comorbid condition 0.79,p = 0.07). The intervention was feasible to implement and satisfaction with the intervention was high. With a small sample size, the intervention did not demonstrate significant improvement in adherence to medications for HIV or comorbid conditions. Patients with HIV are often medically complex and may have multiple barriers to medication adherence. Medication adherence is a multifaceted process and adherence promotion interventions require an approach that targets patient-specific barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of the study was to examine the association between levels of past and current alcohol consumption and all-cause and liver-related mortality among people living with HIV (PLWH). Methods A prospective cohort study of 1855 PLWH in Baltimore, MD was carried out from 2000 to 2013. We ascertained alcohol use by (1) self-report (SR) through a computer-assisted self interview, and (2) medical record abstraction of provider-documented (PD) alcohol use. SR alcohol consumption was categorized as heavy (men: > 4 drinks/day or > 14 drinks/week; women: > 3 drinks/day or > 7 drinks/week), moderate (any alcohol consumption less than heavy), and none. We calculated the cumulative incidence of liver-related mortality and fitted adjusted cause-specific regression models to account for competing risks. Results All-cause and liver-related mortality rates (MRs) were 43.0 and 7.2 per 1000 person-years (PY), respectively. All-cause mortality was highest among SR nondrinkers with PD recent (< 6 months) heavy drinking (MR = 85.4 deaths/1000 PY) and lowest among SR moderate drinkers with no PD history of heavy drinking (MR = 23.0 deaths/1000 PY). Compared with SR moderate drinkers with no PD history of heavy drinking, SR nondrinkers and moderate drinkers with PD recent heavy drinking had higher liver-related mortality [hazard ratio (HR) = 7.28 and 3.52, respectively]. However, SR nondrinkers and moderate drinkers with a PD drinking history of > 6 months ago showed similar rates of liver-related mortality (HR = 1.06 and 2.00, respectively). Conclusions Any heavy alcohol consumption was associated with all-cause mortality among HIV-infected individuals, while only recent heavy consumption was associated with liver-related mortality. Because mortality risk among nondrinkers varies substantially by drinking history, current consumption alone is insufficient to assess risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]