Objective To study the pathogens and drug resistance profiles of pulmonary infection in patients with AIDS. Methods The pathogens and their drug susceptibility of pulmonary infection diagnosed by fibrobronchescopy-induced brunchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAI.F) culture and/or transbronchial biopsy in 116 AIDS cases were analyzed. Results Monopathogenic infection in lungs were detected in 18 cases(15.5%) and mixed infection in 98 cases ( 84.5%). Of the 116 cases, bacteria were present in 91 patients, fungi in 62, tubercle bacillus in 49, pneumocystis jiroveci in 29, and cytomegalovirus in 11.Ninety-five bacterial strains were isolated from BALF, mainly including Streptococci (34), coagulase negative Staphylococcus (20), Klebsiella pneumoniae (10) and Escherichia (7). The isolated bacteria were resistant to β-lactam, macrolides, quinolones and aminoglycosides, of which were 14 methicillin-resistant Streptococci (MRS) strains and 12 extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) strains. Sixty-eight fungal strains were isolated, including 36 Candida mycodermas, 19 Penicilliums, 6 Aspergilli and 5 Mold fungi;they were sensitive to amphotericin B but resistant to fluconazol (5.6% -50. 0% ) and itraconazole( 10. 5%-60. 0% ). Conclusion Pneumonia in AIDS patients are usually caused by multiple pathogens,predominantly consisting of multiresistant bacteria and fungi. Therefore, antibiotics should be rationally chosen according to drug susceptibility test.

Objective To evaluate the therapeutic effect of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) in treatment-na(i)ve Chinese patients with AIDS, to provide evidences for standardizing HAART.Methods Seventy-four treatment-naive AIDS patients were initiated with HAART and followed up regularly for 3 years. The clinical and laboratory data, side effects and drug resistance were observed and analyzed during the follow-up period. Results Of the 74 patients, 46 were males and 28 were females, with the average age being 42 years. The mean HIV viral load was ( 2. 2 ± 2.0 ) × 105 copies/ml and the baseline mean CD4+ T lymphocyte count was (62 ± 71 )cells/μl before treatment. After treatment for 3, 6, 12, 18,24, 30 and 36 months, the percentage of undetectable HIV viral road (less than 50 copies/ml ) was 71.6%, 83.8%, 75.7%, 77.0%, 82.4%, 81.1% and 79.7% respectively, and CD4+T lymphocyte count ascended to ( 167 ± 105), ( 177 ± 129), (238 ± 137), (290 ± 158), (304 ± 191 ), (331 ± 175) and ( 352 ± 202 ) cells/μl. The increase in amplitude of CD4+ T lymphocyte count in different periods examined was different, with the period of 0-3 months post-treatment demonstrating the most obvious augmentation ( P ＜ 0. 01 ) . The most common adverse reactions were liver function injury ( 52/74,70. 3% ), hyperlipemia (52/74, 70. 3%), hematopoietic inhibition of the bone marrow (33/74, 44. 6% ),peripheral neuritis (32/74, 43.2% ) and lipoatrophy (26/74, 35. 1%). Clinical drug resistance were found in nine patients and HIV gene mutations were detected in these patients. Conclusions Chinese treatment-naive AIDS patients have achieved good virological and immunological response to generic-drugpredominant HAART regimes with low drug resistance, but relatively more side effects.

Objective:To observe the differences in biochemical indexes and AIDS-related complications at baseline in HIV-infected patients with different levels of immune reconstitution to antiretroviral therapy (ART).Methods:The subjects were treat-na?ve adult HIV-infected patients who were followed up for more than 24 months in the Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital affiliated infection clinic at Guangzhou Medical University from January 2010 to December 2017. CD4 + T lymphocyte count at baseline at <200, 200-350, and >350 cells/μl levels were divided into poor, partial, and good immune reconstitution groups. The Kruskal-Wallis H and chi-square tests were used to analyze the differences in baseline sociodemographic characteristics, biochemical indexes, and AIDS-related complications among different groups. The SPSS 20.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Results:Among the 3 900 HIV-infected individuals, 385 cases (9.9%), 1 206 cases (30.9%), and 2 309 cases (59.2%) were grouped into poor, partial and good immune reconstitution groups, respectively. The baseline biochemical indexes of leukocyte, platelet, hemoglobin, TG, TC, FPG, AST, ALT and total bilirubin in the poor immune reconstitution group were significantly different from those in the good immune reconstitution group (all P<0.05). The proportion of AIDS-related complications at baseline in the poor immune reconstitution group, such as tuberculosis, pneumocystis yeli pneumonia, disseminated mycosis, esophageal candidiasis, extrapulmonary tuberculosis, dermatitis, oral candidiasis, oral mucous leukoplakia, continuous diarrhea for more than 1 month and continuous or intermittent fever for more than 1 month, was significantly higher than that in the good immune reconstitution group (all P<0.05). Conclusions:The biochemical indexes and AIDS-related complications in HIV-infected patients with different levels of immune reconstitution were significantly different at baseline. Attention should be paid to monitoring abnormal biomedical indicators and AIDS-related complications at baseline.

Objective:To investigate the long-term characteristic changes of virus, immune status, and liver fibrosis markers in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infected patients after receiving direct-antiviral agents (DAAs).Methods:HIV/HCV co-infected patients who visited the Guangzhou Eighth People’s Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University from May 2014 to December 2019 were selected as the research subjects. The changes of virological response rate, peripheral blood CD4 +T lymphocyte level and serological markers of liver fibrosis (APRI score and FIB-4 index) were observed during 144 weeks of follow-up course after the end of DAAs treatment. Kruskal-Wallis test was used for statistical approach. Results:A total of 103 cases were included in the study. There were 87 males (87.5%), with a median age of 44 years. Sustained virological response rate at 12 weeks (SVR12) after DAAs treatment was 97.6%, and the SVR during the entire follow-up period was at least 95.9%. Compared with baseline, CD4 +T lymphocyte count were significantly increased equally at 12 weeks ( Z = -2.283, P = 0.022), 24 weeks (Z = -3.538, P < 0.001), 48 weeks ( Z = -3.297, P = 0.001), 96 weeks ( Z = -3.562, P < 0.001), and 144 weeks ( Z = -2.842, P = 0.004). APRI score ( Z = -6.394, P < 0.001) and FIB-4 index ( Z = -2.528, P = 0.011) were significantly lower than baseline at week 4 of DAAs treatment, and thereafter remained at a low level, without further declination. Conclusion:HIV/HCV co-infected patients can maintain high SVR for a long time, acquire good immune reconstitution, and significantly improve liver fibrosis after DAAs treatment.

Objective:To investigate the risk factors of low-level viremia (LLV) among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients after combined anti-retroviral therapy (ART), and to provide evidence for reducing the risk of LLV.Methods:It was a cross-sectional observation study that enrolled HIV/AIDS patients with LLV (plasma HIV-1 RNA was 50 to 1 000 copies/mL) receiving ART over one year (LLV group) from January 2019 to December 2020 in Guangzhou Eighth People′s Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University. Contemporaneous patients with ART over one year and successful viral suppression (plasma HIV-1 RNA<50 copies/mL) were randomly selected as the control group (suppression group) with a ratio of 1∶2.5, and the risk factors for LLV were analyzed by unconditional logistic regression.Results:A total of 128 and 297 patients were enrolled in LLV group and the suppression group, respectively.ART durations were 3.62(1.83, 4.89) years and 4.91(2.90, 5.88) years, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the risk factors associated with LLV included the age of initial ART treatment above 50 years old (odds ratio ( OR)=1.82, 95% confidence interval ( CI) 1.01 to 3.26, P=0.046), the baseline HIV-1 RNA over 1×10 5 copies/mL ( OR=2.18, 95% CI 1.30 to 3.68, P=0.003), using the simplified initial ART regimen ( OR=1.82, 95% CI 1.02 to 3.26, P=0.044), missing medication more than three times per year ( OR=2.49, 95% CI 1.55 to 4.01, P<0.001) and changing regimen during ART ( OR=1.90, 95% CI 1.14 to 3.14, P=0.013), while the duration of ART longer than five years could reduce the risk of LLV ( OR=0.37, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.64, P<0.001). In patients with simplified initial ART regimen, the baseline CD4 + T lymphocyte count of whom with LLV was lower than that of whom with viral suppression, and the difference was statistically significant (94.00 (24.00, 281.00)/μL vs 375.00 (310.00, 435.00)/μL, Z=-2.60, P<0.001). Conclusions:The occurrence of LLV is related to the age of initial ART treatment, the baseline HIV-1 RNA, the initial ART regimen, the medication adherence and the change of ART regimen during ART. Strategies may be beneficial to reducing the risk of LLV for HIV/AIDS patients, such as initiating ART as soon as possible, using simplified regimen as initial regimen with caution in patients with low baseline CD4 + T lymphocyte counts, strengthening compliance education, avoiding unnecessary ART regimen changes.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) clearance is vital for a functional cure of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. However, the incidence and predictors of HBsAg seroclearance in patients co-infected with HBV and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remain largely unknown in Guangdong, China. METHODS: Between 2009 and 2019, patients co-infected with HBV/HIV undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital affiliated to Guangzhou Medical University were retrospectively reviewed with the endpoint on December 31, 2020. The incidence and risk factors for HBsAg seroclearance were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier and multivariate Cox regression analyses. RESULTS: A total of 1550 HBV/HIV co-infected patients were included in the study, with the median age of 42 years and 86.0% (1333/1550) males. Further, 98.3% (1524/1550) received ART containing tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) plus lamivudine (3TC). HBV DNA was examined in 1283 cases at the last follow-up. Over the median 4.7 years of follow-up, 8.1% (126/1550) patients achieved HBsAg seroclearance, among whom 50.8% (64/126) obtained hepatitis B surface antibody, 28.1% (137/488) acquired hepatitis B e antigen seroconversion, and 95.9% (1231/1283) undetectable HBV DNA. Compared with patients who maintained HBsAg positive, cases achieving HBsAg seroclearance showed no differences in age, gender, CD4 + T cell count, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level, or fibrosis status; however, they presented lower HBV DNA levels, lower HBsAg levels, and higher rates of HBV genotype B at the baseline. Multivariate analysis showed that baseline HBsAg <1500 cutoff index (COI) (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.74, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.48-5.09), ALT elevation >2 × upper limit of normal during the first six months after receiving ART (aHR, 2.96, 95% CI: 1.53-5.77), and HBV genotype B (aHR, 3.73, 95% CI: 1.46-9.59) were independent predictors for HBsAg seroclearance (all P <0.01). CONCLUSIONS Long-term TDF-containing ART has high anti-HBV efficacy including relatively high overall HBsAg seroclearance in HBV/HIV co-infected patients. Lower baseline HBsAg levels, HBV genotype B, and elevated ALT levels during the first six months of ART are potential predictors of HBsAg seroclearance.
Male ; Humans ; Adult ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B virus/genetics* ; HIV Infections/drug therapy* ; HIV ; DNA, Viral ; Incidence ; Coinfection/drug therapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Tenofovir/therapeutic use* ; Lamivudine/therapeutic use* ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/drug therapy*

Background::Chronic liver disease has emerged as a leading cause of non-acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related mortality in hepatitis C virus (HCV)/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-coinfected patients. The relationship between CD4 cell count and HIV-related opportunistic infections and tumors has been well characterized; however, it is unclear whether CD4 cell count is associated with HCV-related hepatic events.Methods::This observational cohort study enrolled HCV/HIV-coinfected patients from the National Free Antiretroviral Treatment Program of China from 2004 to 2019 in Guangzhou. The primary outcome was a composite of hepatic events, including cirrhosis complications, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and liver-related mortality. Kaplan-Meier survival and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed.Results::Among the 793 patients, 43 developed hepatic events during a median follow-up of 6.7 years, including 35 cirrhosis complications, 13 HCC cases, and 14 cases of liver-related mortality. The 5-year and 10-year cumulative incidences of hepatic events were 4.2% and 9.3%, respectively. Patients who developed hepatic events had a less satisfactory increase in CD4 cell count, lower peak CD4 (354.5 cells/μL vs. 560.0 cells/μL, P < 0.001), and lower percentage of peak CD4 > 500 cells/μL (30.2% vs. 60.7%, P < 0.001) after the initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) than those who did not. The cumulative incidences of hepatic events were higher in patients with lower peak CD4 levels with adjusted odds ratios of 3.96 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.51-10.40), 2.25 (95% CI: 0.87-5.86), and 0.98 (95% CI: 0.35-2.74) for patients with peak CD4 at <200 cells/μL, 200-350 cells/μL, and 351 to 500 cells/μL, respectively, relative to those with peak CD4 > 500 cells/μL. Peak CD4 was negatively associated with the risk of hepatic events in a dose-response manner ( P-value for trend = 0.004). Conclusion::Persistently low CD4 cell counts after ART are independently associated with a high risk of hepatic events in HCV/HIV-coinfected patients, highlighting the important role of immune reconstitution in improving liver outcomes.