Diagnostic accuracy of three clinical case definitions for advanced HIV disease

Are your patient's medically unexplained symptoms really "all in her head"?

Even though the definitions in the third edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual were supposed to be descriptions of clinical syndromes, the third and later editions of the DSM have included diagnostic categories for conversion disorder and various forms of somatization disorder, which represent an assertion of causality, not an observation of a clinical syndrome. Although these "disorders" represent etiologic diagnoses, the definitions provide no validated method for establishing causality in individual cases. Nor is there any validated methodology for making a presumptive diagnosis. Thus, it is impossible to make a diagnosis of conversion disorder or a somatization disorder without making an error in reasoning. These diagnostic categories should therefore be excluded from the DSM-V.

Non-medical use of opioids among HIV-infected opioid dependent individuals on opioid maintenance treatment: the need for a more comprehensive approach

BACKGROUND

Opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) has a positive impact on substance use and health outcomes among HIV-infected opioid dependent patients. The present study investigates non-medical use of opioids by HIV-infected opioid-dependent individuals treated with buprenorphine or methadone.

METHODS

The MANIF 2000 study is a longitudinal study that enrolled a cohort of 476 HIV-infected opioid-dependent individuals. Data were collected in outpatient hospital services delivering HIV care in France. The sample comprised all patients receiving OMT (either methadone or buprenorphine) who attended at least one follow-up visit with data on adherence to OMT (N = 235 patients, 1056 visits). Non-medical use of opioids during OMT was defined as having reported use of opioids in a non-medical context, and/or the misuse of the prescribed oral OMT by an inappropriate route of administration (injection or sniffing). After adjusting for the non-random assignment of OMT type, a model based on GEE was then used to identify predictors of non-medical use of opioids.

RESULTS

Among the 235 patients, 144 (61.3%) and 91 (38.9%) patients were receiving buprenorphine and methadone, respectively, at baseline. Non-medical use of opioids was found in 41.6% of visits for 83% of individual patients. In the multivariate analysis, predictors of non-medical use of opioids were: cocaine, daily cannabis, and benzodiazepine use, experience of opioid withdrawal symptoms, and less time since OMT initiation.

CONCLUSIONS

Non-medical use of opioids was found to be comparable in OMT patients receiving methadone or buprenorphine. The presence of opioid withdrawal symptoms was a determinant of non-medical use of opioids and may serve as a clinical indicator of inadequate dosage, medication, or type of follow-up. Sustainability and continuity of care with adequate monitoring of withdrawal symptoms and polydrug use may contribute to reduced harms from ongoing non-medical use of opioids.

Cost-effectiveness of routine and low-cost CD4 T-cell count compared with WHO clinical staging of HIV to guide initiation of antiretroviral therapy in resource-limited settings

BACKGROUND

HIV is a major cause of disease and death in sub-Saharan Africa. Provision and scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in resource-limited settings is feasible and cost-effective. Initiation of ART is guided by WHO stage or CD4 cell count; the latter may not be available and up to 70% of eligible individuals are not identified. Low-cost CD4 cell count tests are comparable to conventional methods. We compared the direct healthcare costs and benefits using routine and low-cost CD4 cell count versus WHO staging to initiate ART.

METHODS

Using a Markov state transition model, we incorporated costs, survival and quality of life. We compared the direct healthcare costs and benefits in quality-adjusted life years gained using routine and low-cost CD4 cell count versus WHO staging to initiate ART. We estimated an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio in US$ per quality-adjusted life year gained and compared with threshold of gross domestic product per capita. Uncertainty was assessed by sensitivity analysis.

RESULTS

Routine and low-cost CD4 cell counts compared to WHO staging to guide initiation of ART improved quantity and quality of life and appears to be very cost-effective. The base case estimated an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of US$939 and US$85 per quality-adjusted life years gained, respectively, and well below the cost effectiveness thresholds of gross domestic product per capita.

CONCLUSION

Routine or low-cost CD4 cell count compared to WHO staging, to guide initiation of ART, is a very cost-effective intervention for sub-Saharan Africa and should be an integral part of the scale-up of ART programs.

Ezrin Immunoreactivity Reveals Specific Astrocyte Activation in Cerebral HIV

The actin-binding protein ezrin is associated with cellular shape changes, motility, tumor invasion, and lymphocyte activation. We have earlier shown that ezrin immunoreactivity (IR) is faintly present in normal astrocytes but increased in malignant human astrogliomas. We studied the role of ezrin in astrocyte activation, applying immunostaining on serial paraffin sections from human autopsied brain tissues (51 cases). Cerebral HIV infection was chosen as a model displaying consistent exemplary astrocyte activation. Semiquantitative ezrin-IR was compared with the common glial markers GFAP, ferritin, and HLA-DR in relation to clinical and morphologic criteria of HIV encephalopathy. In all cases with HIV infection, GFAP-, HLA-DR-, and ferritin-IR were elevated in comparison to normal brain tissues. In contrast, high ezrin-IR in HIV infection strictly correlated with additional HIV encephalopathy. HIV encephalopathy with particularly high ezrin-IR was correlated with neuronal apoptosis (TUNEL). Combined ezrin-IR and GFAP-IR thus reveals 2 distinct states of astrocytic activation. Normal ezrin-IR, when paralleled by upregulated GFAP, reflects astroglial activation not associated with neuronal apoptosis. High ezrin-IR indicates specific astrocyte stressors related to cellular damage within the central nervous system. Ezrin-IR might also provide a diagnostic tool for the classification of HIV encephalopathy.

Intramedullary tuberculoma of the spinal cord. Case report and review of the literature

Intramedullary spinal tuberculosis infection remains an extremely rare disease entity. In the most recent reviews only 148 cases have been reported in the world literature, although numerous recent reports from developing countries and on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients have increased this number. The authors present an unusual case of intramedullary tuberculoma in an HIV-negative patient from the southern United States who demonstrated no other signs or symptoms of tuberculosis infection. The authors believe that this is the first case of its kind to be presented in recent literature. The presentation of miliary disease via an isolated intramedullary spinal mass in a patient with no evident risk factors for tuberculosis infection emphasizes the importance of including tuberculosis in the differential diagnosis of spinal cord masses.

Intramedullary tuberculous abscess: a case report

STUDY DESIGN

This case report shows an intramedullary thoracic spinal cord abscess secondary to Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a 7-year-old boy with chronic progressive paraparesis and hypesthesia below T10.

OBJECTIVES

The treatment of this patient involved drainage of pus followed by appropriate chemotherapy.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

Abscess and tuberculomas of the spinal cord are rare entities. They are indistinguishable from neoplasms. The possibility of tubercular abscess or granuloma should be kept in mind when an intraspinal mass is found, provided that the clinical history is unusual for tumor.

METHODS

A left T7-T8 hemilaminectomy was performed. A quantity of pus was drained through a small myelotomy. A small specimen was taken, and antituberculosis treatment was given after surgery.

RESULTS

Excellent clinical outcome was obtained with a combination of medical and surgical management.

CONCLUSION

The treatment of intramedullary abscess consists of surgical evacuation of the pus. Appropriate treatment offers a favorable prognosis even in cases with severe deficits.