: The aim of this study was to assess sleep quality in people living with HIV (PLWH), and to examine how the sleep sphere interacts with mental health, quality of life and internalized stigma. A total of 250 PLWH were consecutively enrolled during routine outpatient visits. Each participant completed a 67-item questionnaire.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Risk factors for acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection in people living with HIV (PLWH) and the true relationship between HIV and SARS CoV-2, are still not fully understood.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify the independent risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 acquisition in treatment experienced PLWH, shedding light on potential risk factors associated with SARS CoV-2 infection in PLWH undergoing treatment.
Study Design: PLWH were recruited from the Infectious Diseases Outpatient Clinic of Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A.
Travel Med Infect Dis
May 2025
Background: Global warming has facilitated the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, including dengue, to non-endemic areas like Italy. People living with HIV (PLWH) are at increased risk of severe dengue, especially during secondary infections, but current vaccination options are constrained by safety considerations. This study assesses the seroprevalence of IgG anti-DENV among PLWH in Italy, after the 2023 Italian autochthonous outbreak.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Results from clinical trials and observational studies suggest that dolutegravir plus lamivudine is a well tolerated option for simplification in people with HIV (PWH). We aimed to assess long-time effectiveness and safety in our cohort.
Methods: We performed an observational study enrolling HIV-1-infected, virologically suppressed PWH, switching to dolutegravir plus lamivudine.
HIV Med
April 2025
Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the HIV virological efficacy of two-drug regimens (2DR) with lamivudine (3TC) and dolutegravir (DTG) in people with HIV (PWH), classified by their hepatitis B virus (HBV) serological status. Specifically, it explored whether isolated anti-hepatitis B core (anti-HBc) positivity impacts virological outcomes.
Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted at Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, enrolling 606 virologically suppressed (HIV-RNA < 50 copies/mL) PWH who switched to a 2DR regimen with 3TC/DTG.
Background: Long-acting Cabotegravir and Rilpivirine (LA CAB + RPV) shows potential advantages in heavily comorbid and even in viremic people with HIV (PWH). We assessed LA CAB + RPV durability in a cohort of PWH with a high comorbidity burden and adherence issues.
Methods: Retrospective observational study in two Italian outpatient settings enrolling PWH who switched to LA CAB + RPV from February 2021 to January 2024 in presence of exclusion criteria enlisted in registrational trials or with other worrisome clinical risks.
Background: Oxidative stress (OS) is the imbalance between oxidant and antioxidant molecules, in favour of oxidants, that has been associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality in ART-treated people living with HIV (PLWH). We aimed to assess factors associated with OS in virologically suppressed PLWH on long-term modern ART.
Method: In this cross-sectional study we evaluated OS by measuring both the levels of derivatives-reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs) and the biological antioxidant potential (BAP).
Int J STD AIDS
February 2025
Background: In the context of People Living with HIV (PLWH), poor health literacy (HL) seems to be linked to poorer health outcomes and reduced engagement in care. Additionally, the level of HL can affect HIV knowledge and may impact adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). This research explored the connection between ART adherence, HL, and engagement in care in a cohort of 250 PLWH receiving ART in Italy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Antimicrob Chemother
January 2025
Objectives: We compared the effectiveness and safety of bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (BIC/FTC/TAF) and dolutegravir plus lamivudine (DTG + 3TC) in our cohort of treatment-naive people with HIV (PWH).
Methods: In a multicentre cohort of treatment-naive PWH starting a first-line regimen with either dolutegravir plus lamivudine or BIC/FTC/TAF, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to estimate time to virological failure (VF) and time to treatment discontinuation (TD), whereas Cox regression was used to evaluate predictors of VF and TD. Changes in CD4+ cell count were assessed via non-parametric tests, and linear regression analyses were performed to explore predictors of CD4+ cell count changes.
AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses
February 2025
The Aim of this study is to assess the cardiovascular safety of doravirine/lamivudine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (DOR/3TC/TDF). We analyzed data from 37 virologically suppressed people living with HIV starting DOR/3TC/TDF, collecting viro-immunological and metabolic parameters as well as the 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease (10Y-CD) using both the Framingham risk score and D:A:D score.After 48 weeks, we observed a significant reduction in 10Y-CD both via the Framingham score (-0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTravel Med Infect Dis
November 2024
Background: High incidence mpox rates suggest asymptomatic individuals may contribute to virus transmission. We undertook this study to assess the seroprevalence of IgG anti-MPXV in a cohort of asymptomatic PLWH, to analyze the size of the phenomenon of asymptomatic infections.
Materials And Methods: From October 2022 to March 2023 we serially collected serum samples from PLWH attending our Clinic.
Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) facilitate communication between patients and providers, enhancing patient-centered care. We report PROs for virologically suppressed people living with HIV-1 who switched to dolutegravir/lamivudine (DTG/3TC) or continued their 3- or 4-drug current antiretroviral regimen (CAR) in the phase 3 SALSA study. Secondary endpoints included change from baseline in HIV Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (status version; HIVTSQs) and HIV Symptom Distress Module (HIV-SDM) at Weeks 4, 24, and 48.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVicarious stigma shows how indirect stigmatizing experiences can lead people living with HIV (PLWH) to feel discriminated against. We enrolled 350 PLWH, who were administered a 17-item questionnaire to investigate a subjective experience of stigma experienced in the hospital care setting. We found that at least once 215 PLWH (61.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Acquir Immune Defic Syndr
June 2024
Background: Lamivudine + dolutegravir maintenance dual therapy (DT) could be less effective than 3-drug therapy (TT) in the context of resistance-associated mutations to nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs). The ARCA database was queried to test this hypothesis with a trial emulation strategy.
Methods: People with HIV taking 2 NRTIs plus a protease inhibitor or a non-NRTI who switched to DT or dolutegravir-based TT were followed up from the first HIV RNA <50 copies/mL (baseline) to virologic failure (VF; ie, 2 consecutive HIV RNA ≥50 copies/mL or 1 HIV RNA ≥200 copies/mL).
Definitive data on the long-term success of the latest antiretroviral therapy (ART) strategies are still lacking. A panel of infectious diseases specialists was convened to develop a consensus on how to tailor and follow ART over time. Panelists used a Delphi technique to develop a list of statements describing preferred management approaches for ART and patient monitoring and quality of life evaluation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEchinococcal disease (hydatid disease (HD) is an endemic parasitosis caused by Echinococcus granulosus in the larval stage, and it is typically due to the production of unilocular cystic lesions, usually involving the liver for the majority of patients and the lungs in 25%, but also any other organs can be potentially involved in developing echinococcal disease. We report a case of extrahepatic, retroperitoneal echinococcal disease, caused by Echinococcus granulosus. The patient underwent a surgical removal of the abdominal mass, revealed by abdominal ultrasound and computerized tomography scanning, and in the founded clinical and radiological suspicion of echinococcal disease, multiple bioptical samples were sent for microbiological analysis and albendazole therapy was started; Echinococcus granulosus protoscolices were found on the bioptical sample, and the diagnosis was successfully confirmed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOpen Forum Infect Dis
November 2023
Background: To investigate the impact of the M184V/I mutation on virologic response to dolutegravir plus lamivudine (DTG + 3TC) in suppressed-switch populations, a meta-analysis was performed using virologic outcomes from people with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (PWH) with and without M184V/I before DTG + 3TC switch in real-world studies identified via systematic literature review. Sensitivity analyses were performed using data from PWH with M184V/I in interventional studies identified via targeted literature review.
Methods: Single-arm meta-analyses using common- and random-effects models were used to estimate proportions of PWH with virologic failure (VF) among real-world populations with and without M184V/I and interventional study participants with M184V/I at 24, 48, and 96 weeks.
We analyzed the case of a 49-year-old woman with HIV infection off-therapy with poor viro-immunological compensation, not vaccinated for SARS-COV-2, hospitalized for lobar pneumonia and severe COVID19-related respiratory failure in intensive care unit (ICU). The hospitalization was complicated by bacteraemic ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR-AB) isolated on pleural fluid culture, treated with colistin and cefiderocol for about 3 weeks. The molecular research of MDR-AB on transtracheal aspirate was negative following this therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF