Category Archives: Co-infections
HCV cure and reinfection among people with HIV/HCV coinfection and people who inject drugs
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Highly effective, well-tolerated interferon-free direct-acting antivirals (DAA) have revolutionised hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapeutics, with the opportunity for broad treatment scale-up among marginalised or “high-risk” populations, including...
Effectiveness of needle and syringe programmes in people who inject drugs – An overview of systematic reviews
BACKGROUND: Needle and syringe programmes (NSP) are a critical component of harm reduction interventions among people who inject drugs (PWID). Our primary objective was to summarize the evidence on the...
Influence of vitamin D on liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the pooled clinical trials data
AIM: To investigate the relationship between vitamin D and liver fibrosis in hepatitis C-monoinfected or hepatitis C virus (HCV)-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infected patients. METHODS: Pertinent studies were located by...
Adverse drug reactions during drug-resistant TB treatment in high HIV prevalence settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of adverse drug reactions or events (ADR) during drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) treatment in the context of settings with high HIV prevalence (at least 20% of...
Maternal HCV infection is associated with intrauterine fetal growth disturbance: A meta-analysis of observational studies
Since the evidence regarding the association between maternal hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and impaired intrauterine fetal growth had not been conclusive, the aim of the present study was to...
Clinical management of adults and children with multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis
BACKGROUND: Globally there is a burgeoning epidemic of drug monoresistant tuberculosis (TB), multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB). Almost 20% of all TB strains worldwide are resistant to...
Adverse effects of oral second-line antituberculosis drugs in children
INTRODUCTION: Increasing numbers of children with drug-resistant tuberculosis are accessing second-line antituberculosis drugs; these are more toxic than first-line drugs. Little is known about the safety of new antituberculosis drugs...
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in HIV-infected and HIV-exposed, uninfected children
INTRODUCTION: Incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) among HIV-infected children is 20-40 fold greater compared to HIV-uninfected children, including among HIV-infected children on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Also, HIV-exposed, uninfected children...
Toxoplasma gondii infection in immunocompromised patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Toxoplasma gondii has been suggested as an important opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised patients. We conducted a global meta-analysis to assess the prevalence and odds ratios (ORs) of T. gondii infection...
Carcinogenicity of human papillomavirus (HPV) types in HIV-positive women: A meta-analysis from HPV infection to cervical cancer
Background.: Data on the relative carcinogenic potential of human papillomavirus (HPV) types among women infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (WHIV) are needed to inform prevention programs for this population....
Candida antifungal drug resistance in sub-Saharan African populations: A systematic review
Background: Candida infections are responsible for increased morbidity and mortality rates in at-risk patients, especially in developing countries where there is limited access to antifungal drugs and a high burden...
Community-acquired pneumonia in HIV-positive patients: An update on etiologies, epidemiology and management
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the cause of a considerable burden of morbidity and mortality among HIV-infected patients. The purpose of this study was to review recent literature...