The continuum of HIV care in Catalonia

The objective was to produce a cascade of care for Catalonia to gain a public health perspective on the overall quality of HIV services and allow comparison with other countries. It was constructed using the Integrated Epidemiological Surveillance System of HIV in Catalonia and data from the PISCIS Cohort. Estimates of the number of people living with HIV in Catalonia are modelled using Spectrum Projection Package 2011 (UNAIDS/WHO). Totals for each stage in the cascade are obtained by applying to the preceding stage a proportion estimated from available surveillance and cohort data. Undiagnosed HIV was estimated from the European literature. The proportions retained in care, on ART and virally suppressed were derived from the PISCIS cohort. Programmatic data on ART consumption was used to validate estimates. By the end of 2011 there were about 33,000 people living with HIV in Catalonia, 71% of which had been both diagnosed and linked to care. We estimate that 61% of all HIV infected persons were retained in care, 56% were on ART and 48% were virally suppressed. These figures data are comparable, although slightly lower, than that of France or the UK. The Cascade of HIV Care in Catalonia is similar to other western European countries such as France and the UK. Direct estimates of the undiagnosed HIV population and linkage to care are desirable but the contribution of cohort data to the cascade highlights their continued importance in HIV surveillance and design of evidence-based health strategies.     

An audit of consent refusals in clinical research at a tertiary care center in India

Background and Rationale:

Ensuring research participants’ autonomy is one of the core ethical obligations of researchers. This fundamental principle confers on every participant the right to refuse to take part in clinical research, and the measure of the number of consent refusals could be an important metric to evaluate the quality of the informed consent process. This audit examined consent refusals among Indian participants in clinical studies done at our center.

Materials and Methods:

The number of consent refusals and their reasons in 10 studies done at our center over a 5-year period were assessed. The studies were classified by the authors according to the type of participant (healthy vs patients), type of sponsor (investigator-initiated vs pharmaceutical industry), type of study (observational vs interventional), level of risk [based on the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) “Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research on Human Participants”], available knowledge of the intervention being studied, and each patient''s disease condition.

Results:

The overall consent refusal rate was 21%. This rate was higher among patient participants [23.8% vs. healthy people (14.9%); P = 0.002], in interventional studies [33.6% vs observational studies (7.5%); P < 0.0001], in pharmaceutical industry-sponsored studies [34.7% vs investigator-initiated studies (7.2%); P < 0.0001], and in studies with greater risk (P < 0.0001). The most common reasons for consent refusals were multiple blood collections (28%), inability to comply with the study protocol (20%), and the risks involved (20%).

Conclusion:

Our audit suggests the adequacy and reasonable quality of the informed consent process using consent refusals as a metric.KEY WORDS: Autonomy, consent, India, reason, refusal, risk     

Fractionated total-body irradiation and high-dose etoposide as a preparatory regimen for bone marrow transplantation for 94 patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia in chronic phase

Ninety-four consecutive patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia in first clinical chronic phase, median age of 34.0 years (range, 6.8 to 52.4 years), with a histocompatible sibling donor, were treated with fractionated total body irradiation (1,320 cGy) and high-dose etoposide (60 mg/kg) followed by allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). The median time from diagnosis to BMT was 7.0 months (range, 2.3 to 72.0 months). Sixty patients were treated before BMT with hydroxyurea alone, four patients with busulfan alone, one patient with interferon alone, and the other 29 patients were treated with various combinations of these drugs. Cumulative probabilities of overall survival, event- free survival, and relapse at 5 years were 73%, 64%, and 14%, respectively. The median follow-up time for surviving patients was 38 months, ranging from 12 to 88 months. By stepwise Cox regression analysis, significant prognostic variables were age at transplant, acute graft-versus-host disease > or = grade II, cytomegalovirus- associated interstitial pneumonitis, and years from diagnosis to BMT.     

In vivo confocal microscopy of climatic droplet keratopathy

We describe the corneal microstructural changes in a patient with spheroidal degeneration using in vivo confocal microscopy. Multiple hypo‐ and hyper‐reflective spherical lesions were observed in the anterior corneal stroma and Bowman's layer ranging from 45 to 220 μm in size. The corneal epithelium, posterior stroma and endothelium were otherwise unaffected. In vivo confocal microscopy demonstrates good correlation with excised histological samples in climatic droplet keratopathy. It provides a non‐invasive technique to examine the living cornea for degenerative disease and acts as a bridge between clinical and laboratory observations.     

Differential diagnosis of corneal oedema assisted by in vivo confocal microscopy

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate microstructural differences between clinically similar, but aetiologically different, cases of corneal oedema in four subjects. In vivo confocal microscopy highlighted oedema of the basal epithelium, prominent nerve–keratocyte interactions, and typical ‘epithelialization’ of the endothelium in a case of iridocorneal endothelial syndrome; however, a similar microstructural appearance was observed in a case of presumed herpetic disciform keratitis. The latter diagnosis was subsequently revised on this basis. Confocal examination of Fuchs’ endothelial dystrophy demonstrated oedema of the basal epithelium, prominent wing cells, anterior stromal alterations, fibrosis of Descemet’s membrane and a typical ‘strawberry’ appearance of the endothelium. In contrast, in vivo microstructural examination of bilateral keratoconus with hydrops confirmed oedema mainly involving the epithelium and anterior stroma. In vivo confocal microscopy allows the clinician to observe the living cornea at a microstructural level and to better diagnose and differentiate borderline or unusual cases of corneal oedema.     

Family history of myocardial infarction is an independent risk factor for venous thromboembolism: the Tromsø study

Summary. Background: Recent studies indicate that arterial cardiovascular diseases and venous thromboembolism (VTE) share common risk factors. A family history of myocardial infarction (MI) is a strong and independent risk factor for future MI. Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to determine the impact of cardiovascular risk factors, including family history of MI, on the incidence of VTE in a prospective, population‐based study. Patients and methods: Traditional cardiovascular risk factors and family history of MI were registered in 21 330 subjects, aged 25–96 years, enrolled in the Tromsø study in 1994–95. First‐lifetime VTE events during follow‐up were registered up to 1 September 2007. Results: There were 327 VTE events (1.40 per 1000 person‐years), 138 (42%) unprovoked, during a mean of 10.9 years of follow‐up. In age‐ and gender‐adjusted analysis, age [hazard ratio (HR) per decade, 1.97; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.82–2.12], gender (men vs. women; HR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.01–1.55), body mass index (BMI; HR per 3 kg m^?2, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.13–1.31), and family history of MI (HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.04–1.65) were significantly associated with VTE. Family history of MI remained a significant risk factor for total VTE (HR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.01–1.60) and unprovoked VTE (HR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.03–2.07) in multivariable analysis. Blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL‐cholesterol, triglycerides, and smoking were not independently associated with total VTE. Conclusions: Family history of MI is a risk factor for both MI and VTE, and provides further evidence of a link between venous and arterial thrombosis.