Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
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Interventions such as opiate substitution therapy (OST) and high-coverage needle and syringe programs (HCNSP) cannot substantially reduce hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence among people who inject drugs (PWID). HCV antiviral treatment may prevent onward transmission. We project the impact of combining OST, HCNSP, and antiviral treatment on HCV prevalence/incidence among PWID. ⋯ Combining antiviral treatment with OST with HCNSP is critical for achieving substantial reductions (>50%) in HCV chronic prevalence over 10 years. Empirical studies are required on how best to scale up antiviral treatment and combine treatment with other interventions.
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Case Reports
Chronic hepatitis E in HIV patients: rapid progression to cirrhosis and response to oral ribavirin.
Chronic hepatitis E virus infection with rapid progression to cirrhosis is reported in 2 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients with severe immunosuppression. Monotherapy with ribavirin led to temporary viral response and marked improvement of liver damage. Chronic hepatitis E should be regarded as another opportunistic event within HIV infection.
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The critical role of the microbiology laboratory in infectious disease diagnosis calls for a close, positive working relationship between the physician and the microbiologists who provide enormous value to the health care team. This document, developed by both laboratory and clinical experts, provides information on which tests are valuable and in which contexts, and on tests that add little or no value for diagnostic decisions. ⋯ There is redundancy among the tables and sections, as many agents and assay choices overlap. The document is intended to serve as a reference to guide physicians in choosing tests that will aid them to diagnose infectious diseases in their patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Colistin and rifampicin compared with colistin alone for the treatment of serious infections due to extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii: a multicenter, randomized clinical trial.
Extensively drug-resistant (XDR) Acinetobacter baumannii may cause serious infections in critically ill patients. Colistin often remains the only therapeutic option. Addition of rifampicin to colistin may be synergistic in vitro. In this study, we assessed whether the combination of colistin and rifampicin reduced the mortality of XDR A. baumannii infections compared to colistin alone. ⋯ NCT01577862.
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The critical role of the microbiology laboratory in infectious disease diagnosis calls for a close, positive working relationship between the physician and the microbiologists who provide enormous value to the health care team. This document, developed by both laboratory and clinical experts, provides information on which tests are valuable and in which contexts, and on tests that add little or no value for diagnostic decisions. ⋯ There is redundancy among the tables and sections, as many agents and assay choices overlap. The document is intended to serve as a reference to guide physicians in choosing tests that will aid them to diagnose infectious diseases in their patients.