Productivity costs and determinants of productivity in HIV-infected patients

BACKGROUND: In HIV-infected patients, reduced ability to work may be an important component of the societal costs of this disease. Few data about productivity costs in HIV-infected patients are available. OBJECTIVE: The goals of this study were to estimate productivity costs in the HIV-infected population in Switzerland and to identify characteristics that may influence patient productivity. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included all patients younger than retirement age (65 years for men and 62 years for women) who were enrolled in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study in 2002. Measures of productivity losses in this population were based on patients' ability to work and the median monthly wage rates adjusted for age, sex, and educational level in Switzerland. Factors associated with ability to work were analyzed in a multivariate ordinary logistic regression (proportional odds) model. As of July 1, 2002, the exchange rate for US dollars to Swiss francs (CHF) was US $1.00 approximately equal to CHF 1.48. RESULTS: A total of 5319 HIV-infected patients (3665 men [68.9%] and 1655 women [31.1%]; mean [SD] age, 40.6 [8.4] years; range, 17-64 years) were included in the study. The mean annual productivity loss per patient was estimated at CHF 22,910 (95% CI, CHF 22,064-CHF 23, 756). Ability to work was independently associated with the following (P < 0.001 for all): age (10-year increase: odds ratio [OR], 0.60 [95% CI, 0.54-0.62]), sex (female/male: OR, 0.73 [95% CI, 0.63-0.84]), history of IV drug use (OR, 0.22 [95% CI, 0.19-0.26]), time since first positive HIV test (>10 years vs < or = 10 years: OR, 0.66 [95% CI, 0.58-0.76]), CD4 cell count (201-500 vs 0-200 cells/microL: OR, 1.68 [95% CI, 1.38-2.46]; > or =501 vs 0-200 cells/microL: OR, 2.01 [95%, CI, 1.64-2.46]), history of AIDS-indicator disease (OR, 0.47 [95% CI, 0.41-0.55]), stable partnership during the last 6 months (OR, 1.63 [95% CI, 1.43-1.86]), and educational level (higher vs basic: OR, 1.68 [95% CI, 1.45-1.95]). CONCLUSIONS: Productivity losses to society for the HIV-infected population appeared to be substantial in this analysis. Given a patient's clinical health status, a higher education level and a stable partnership were associated with greater ability to work. Socioeconomic characteristics may influence the cost-effectiveness of health care interventions in HIV-infected patients.     

What Are the Functional Outcomes After Total Sacrectomy Without Spinopelvic Reconstruction?

Background

After total sacrectomy, many types of spinopelvic reconstruction have been described with good functional results. However, complications associated with reconstruction are not uncommon and usually result in further surgical interventions. Moreover, less is known about patient function after total sacrectomy without spinopelvic reconstruction, which may be indicated when malignant or aggressive benign bone and soft tissue tumors involved the entire sacrum.

Questions/purposes

(1) What is the functional outcome and ambulatory status of patients after total sacrectomy without spinopelvic reconstruction? (2) What is the walking ability and ambulatory status of patients when categorized by the location of the iliosacral resection relative to the sacroiliac joint? (3) What complications and reoperations occur after this procedure?

Methods

Between 2008 and 2014, we performed 16 total sacrectomies without spinopelvic reconstructions for nonmetastatic oncologic indications. All surviving patients had followup of at least 12 months, although two were lost to followup after that point (mean, 43 months; range, 12–66 months, among surviving patients). During this time period, we performed total sacrectomy without reconstruction for all patients with primary bone and soft tissue tumors (benign and malignant) involving the entire sacrum with no initial metastasis. The level of resection was the L5–S1 disc in 14 patients and L4–L5 disc in two patients. We classified the resection into two types based on the location of the iliosacral resection. Type I resections went medial to or through or lateral but close to the sacroiliac joint. Type II resections were far lateral (more than 3 cm from the posterior iliac spine) to the sacroiliac joint. Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) scores, physical function assessments, and complications were gleaned from chart review performed by the treating surgeons (PK, BS). Video documentation of patients walking was obtained at followup in eight patients.

Results

The mean overall MSTS scores was 17 (range, 5–27). Thirteen patients were able to walk, five without walking aids, two with a cane and sometimes without a walking aid, three with a cane, and three with a walker. Thirteen of 14 patients who had bilateral Type I resections or a Type I resection on one side and Type II on the contralateral side were able to walk, five without a walking aid, and had a mean MSTS score of 19 (range, 13–27). Two patients with bilateral Type II resection were only able to sit. Complications included wound dehiscences in 13 patients (which were treated with reoperation for drainage), sciatic nerve injury in seven patients, a torn ureter in one patient, and a rectal tear in one patient.

Conclusions

Without spinopelvic reconstruction, most patients in this series who underwent total sacrectomy were able to walk. Good MSTS scores could be expected in patients with bilateral Type I resections and patients with a Type I on one side and a Type II on the contralateral side. Total sacrectomy without spinopelvic reconstruction should be considered as a useful alternative to reconstructive surgery in patients who undergo Type I iliosacral resection on one or both sides.

Level of Evidence

Level IV, therapeutic study.

     

Isolation and characterization of Orientia tsutsugamushi from rodents captured following a scrub typhus outbreak at a military training base, Bothong district, Chonburi province, central Thailand

Orientia tsutsugamushi, an obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacterium, is the causative agent of scrub typhus, a vector-borne disease transmitted by infected chiggers (trombiculid mite larvae). In 2002, an outbreak of scrub typhus occurred among Royal Thai Army troops during the annual field training at a military base in Bothong district, Chonburi province, central Thailand. This report describes the outbreak investigation including its transmission cycle. Results showed that 33.9% of 174 trained troops had scrub typhus-like signs and symptoms and 9.8% of those were positive for O. tsutsugamushi-specific antibodies by indirect fluorescence antibody assay. One hundred thirty-five rodents were captured from this training area, 43% of them had antibodies against O. tsutsugamushi. Six new O. tsutsugamushi isolates were obtained from captured rodent tissues and successfully established in cell culture. Phylogenetic studies showed that these six isolates were either unique or related to a native genotype of previously described isolates from Thailand.     

Characterization of isolates of Salmonella enterica serovar Stanley, a serovar endemic to Asia and associated with travel

Salmonella enterica serovar Stanley (S. Stanley) is a common serovar in Southeast Asia and was the second most common serovar implicated in human salmonellosis in Thailand in the years 2002 to 2007. In contrast, this serovar is relatively uncommon in Europe. The objective of this study was to characterize a collection of S. Stanley strains isolated from Thai (n = 62), Danish (n = 39), and French (n = 24) patients to gain a broader understanding of the genetic diversity, population dynamics, and susceptibility to antimicrobials. All isolates were characterized by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. The molecular mechanisms of resistance to extended-spectrum cephalosporins and plasmid-mediated resistance to quinolones were characterized by PCR and sequencing. Plasmid profiling, replicon typing, and microarray analysis were used to characterize the genetic mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance in 10 extended-spectrum cephalosporinase-producing isolates. Considerable genetic diversity was observed among the isolates characterized with 91 unique XbaI pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns, including 17 distinct clusters consisting of two to seven indistinguishable isolates. We found some of the S. Stanley isolates isolated from patients in Europe were acquired during travel to Southeast Asia, including Thailand. The presence of multiple plasmid lineages carrying the extended-spectrum cephalosporinase-encoding bla(CMY-2) gene in S. Stanley isolates from the central part of Thailand was confirmed. Our results emphasize that Thai authorities, as well as authorities in other countries lacking prudent use of antimicrobials, should improve the ongoing efforts to regulate antimicrobial use in agriculture and in clinical settings to limit the spread of multidrug-resistant Salmonella isolates and plasmids among humans and pigs in Thailand and abroad.