A randomised trial to compare dolutegravir plus boosted darunavir versus recommended standard of care antiretroviral regimens in people with HIV-1, whose first-line non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor therapy has failed: Final 96-week results of the D2EFT study.

Background: Longer-term outcome data following second-line antiretroviral therapy initiation in resource-limited settings is limited, especially in regions where genotypic resistance is inaccessible. This analysis evaluated extended efficacy and tolerability data from the D2EFT study.

Methods: D2EFT is a completed, multicenter, phase IIIB/IV, randomized, open-label trial in 14 low- and middle-income countries.

Associations Between Antiretroviral Regimen and Changes in Blood Pressure: Results From the D2EFT Study.

In this randomized controlled study, individuals taking dolutegravir+darunavir/ritonavir had greater increases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure than those taking 2 nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors+darunavir/ritonavir at week-48. The difference remained significant after controlling for confounding factors, including weight gain.

Evaluation of Simplified HCV Diagnostics in HIV/HCV Co-Infected Patients in Myanmar.

To evaluate a decentralised testing model and simplified treatment protocol of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection to facilitate treatment scale-up in Myanmar, this prospective, observational study recruited HIV-HCV co-infected outpatients receiving sofosbuvir/daclatasvir in Yangon, Myanmar. The study examined the outcomes and factors associated with a sustained virological response (SVR). A decentralised "hub-and-spoke" testing model was evaluated where fingerstick capillary specimens were transported by taxi and processed centrally.

The impact of gender and the social determinants of health on the clinical course of people living with HIV in Myanmar: an observational study.

Background: There is a growing recognition of the impact of gender and the social determinants of health on the clinical course of people living with HIV (PLHIV). However, the relative contribution of these factors to clinical outcomes of PLHIV is incompletely defined in many countries. This study was performed to gain a greater understanding of the non-clinical determinants of prognosis of PLHIV in Myanmar.

Time for pragmatic, prospective clinical trials to determine the role of empirical antibacterial therapy in critically ill adults hospitalized with malaria.

Background: Children with severe falciparum malaria in malaria-endemic regions are predisposed to developing life-threatening bacterial co-infection. International guidelines therefore recommend empirical broad-spectrum antibacterial therapy in these children. Few studies have examined co-infection in adults, although it has been believed to be relatively rare; antibacterial therapy is therefore not routinely recommended in adults with falciparum malaria.

Antibiotic Therapy in Adults with Malaria (ANTHEM): High Rate of Clinically Significant Bacteremia in Hospitalized Adults Diagnosed with Falciparum Malaria.

It has been believed that concomitant bacteremia is uncommon in adults hospitalized with falciparum malaria. Accordingly, the World Health Organization treatment guidelines presently only recommended additional antibacterial therapy in these patients if they have a clinical syndrome compatible with serious bacterial infection. Admission blood cultures were collected from 20 consecutive adults in Myanmar, hospitalized with a positive immunochromatographic test and blood film, suggesting a diagnosis of falciparum malaria; four (20%) had bacteremia with a clinically significant pathogen.

High Frequency of Clinically Significant Bacteremia in Adults Hospitalized With Falciparum Malaria.

Background.  African children with severe falciparum malaria commonly have concomitant Gram-negative bacteremia, but co-infection has been thought to be relatively rare in adult malaria. Methods.