“I don’t want them to know”: how stigma creates dilemmas for engagement with Treat-all HIV care for people living with HIV in Eswatini

“Treat-all” programmes aim to improve clinical outcomes and to reduce HIV transmission through regular HIV testing and immediate offer of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for those diagnosed HIV-positive, irrespective of immunological status and symptoms of disease. Global narratives on the benefits of Treat-all anticipate reduced HIV-related stigma and increased “normalisation” of HIV with Treat-all implementation, whereby HIV is remoulded as a manageable, chronic condition where stigmatising symptoms can be concealed. Drawing on Goffman’s stigma work, we aimed to investigate how stigma may influence the engagement of clinically asymptomatic people living with HIV (PLHIV) with Treat-all HIV care in Shiselweni, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). This longitudinal research comprised 106 interviews conducted from August 2016 to September 2017, including repeated interviews with 30 PLHIV, and one-off interviews with 20 healthcare workers. Data were analysed thematically using NVivo 11, drawing upon principles of grounded theory to generate findings inductively from participants’ accounts.

Stigma was pervasive within the narratives of PLHIV, framing their engagement with treatment and care. Many asymptomatic PLHIV were motivated to initiate ART in order to maintain a “discreditable” status, by preventing the development of visible and exposing symptoms. However, engagement with treatment and care services could itself be exposing. PLHIV described the ways in which these “invisibilising” benefits and exposing risks of ART were continually assessed and navigated over time. Where the risk of exposure was deemed too great, this could lead to intermittent treatment-taking, and disengagement from care. Addressing HIV related stigma is crucial to the success of Treat-all, and should thus be a core component of HIV responses.     

Revisión de los principales test clínicos para evaluar la visión del color

Introduction

Congenital colour vision deficiencies affect 8% of the male and 0.5% of the female population. The study of colour vision is a complex process due to several factors: the psychophysics of vision itself, the difficulty to establish mathematical models for its analysis, the vague correlation of results between different tests, and the influence of external factors such as lighting, the tests condition, or the experience of the examiner and the patient. In the present document, a simplified review was carried out on the main colour vision tests available in clinical practice.

Enhancing adherence and management in patients with hypertension: Impact of form and frequency of knowledge intervention

BackgroundThe alarming rise in prevalence of hypertension warrants psychosocial methods supplementing pharmacotherapy for better management and prevention of cardiac emergencies. The objective of the study was to assess the differential impact of the form and frequency of knowledge intervention on management of primary hypertension.Materials and methodThe study was conducted on 256 hypertensive patients recruited through purposive sampling at health centers in Hyderabad, India. Pretest post-test control group quasi-experimental design was adopted for the study. There were two forms of the knowledge intervention, namely ‘Direct Interaction’ and ‘Audio-Visual’. Each form was presented in two frequencies namely ‘single exposure’ and ‘double exposure’. The four groups were labelled as Direct Intervention Single (DIS), Direct Intervention Double (DID), Audio-Visual Single (AVS) and Audio-Visual Double (AVD). Adherence and management of hypertension were assessed at baseline and six weeks post experiment. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was applied using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20.ResultsANCOVA followed by Bonferroni Multiple Group Comparison Test revealed significant differences between the four intervention groups and control group on adherence (p< .001). In case of hypertension management significant differences were observed between Control group and DIS, DID (p < .001), Control and AVS (p < .01). Control group did not differ from AVD.ConclusionThere was a positive impact of Knowledge Intervention on adherence and management of hypertension. Double exposure in audio visual form was counterproductive in hypertension management.     

Validation of donor fraction cell-free DNA with biopsy-proven cardiac allograft rejection in children and adults

ObjectivesDonor-specific cell-free DNA shows promise as a noninvasive marker for allograft rejection, but as yet has not been validated in both adult and pediatric recipients. The study objective was to validate donor fraction cell-free DNA as a noninvasive test to assess for risk of acute cellular rejection and antibody-mediated rejection after heart transplantation in pediatric and adult recipients.MethodsPediatric and adult heart transplant recipients were enrolled from 7 participating sites and followed for 12 months or more with plasma samples collected immediately before all endomyocardial biopsies. Donor fraction cell-free DNA was extracted, and quantitative genotyping was performed. Blinded donor fraction cell-free DNA and clinical data were analyzed and compared with a previously determined threshold of 0.14%. Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value, and receiver operating characteristic curves were calculated.ResultsA total of 987 samples from 144 subjects were collected. After applying predefined clinical and technical exclusions, 745 samples from 130 subjects produced 54 rejection samples associated with the composite outcome of acute cellular rejection grade 2R or greater and pathologic antibody-mediated rejection 2 or greater and 323 healthy samples. For all participants, donor fraction cell-free DNA at a threshold of 0.14% had a sensitivity of 67%, a specificity of 79%, a positive predictive value of 34%, and a negative predictive value of 94% with an area under the curve of 0.78 for detecting rejection. When analyzed independently, these results held true for both pediatric and adult cohorts at the same threshold of 0.14% (negative predictive value 92% and 95%, respectively).ConclusionsDonor fraction cell-free DNA at a threshold of 0.14% can be used to assess for risk of rejection after heart transplantation in both pediatric and adult patients with excellent negative predictive value.     

Brain maturation in the first 3 months of life,measured by electroencephalogram: A comparison between preterm and term-born infants

ObjectivePreterm infants are at risk for altered brain maturation resulting in neurodevelopmental impairments. Topographical analysis of high-density electroencephalogram during sleep matches underlying brain maturation. Using such an EEG mapping approach could identify preterm infants at risk early in life.Methods20 preterm (gestational age < 32 weeks) and 20 term-born infants (gestational age > 37 weeks) were recorded by 18-channel daytime sleep-EEG at term age (GA 40 weeks for preterm and 2–3 days after birth for term infants) and 3 months (corrected age for preterm infants).ResultsPreterm infant’s power spectrum at term age is immature, leveling off with term infants at 3 months of age. Topographical distribution of maximal power density however, reveals qualitative differences between the groups until 3 months of age. Preterm infants exhibit more temporal than central activation at term age and more occipital than central activation at 3 months of age. Moreover, being less mature at term age predicts being less mature at 3 months of age.ConclusionTopographical analysis of sleep EEG reveals changes in brain maturation between term and preterm infants early in life.SignificanceIn future, automated analysis tools using topographical power distribution could help identify preterm infants at risk early in life.     

Implicit and explicit self-concept of neuroticism in borderline personality disorder

Purpose: In the past, research on personality in borderline personality disorder (BPD) used primarily questionnaires suggesting heightened neuroticism in BPD. Self-report instruments inform about the conscious or explicit self-concept. BPD patients are known to show negative distortion with exaggeration of negative affect in the self-report. Neuroticism represents a risk factor for mental disorders. Indirect measures are available that tap into the implicit self-concept of neuroticism. The implicit self-concept refers to individual differences in associative representations of the self. The present study examined for the first time the implicit in addition to the explicit self-concept of neuroticism in BPD.

Materials and methods: Female BPD patients (N?=?35) and healthy women (N?=?39) completed an implicit association test and the NEO-FFI personality inventory.

Results: BPD patients showed higher implicit and explicit neuroticism compared to controls. The group difference for explicit neuroticism was four times larger than that for implicit neuroticism. Presence of comorbid depressive disorder was positively correlated with implicit neuroticism. The IAT neuroticism showed excellent split-half reliability for BPD patients.

Conclusions: The present data suggest that BPD patients with comorbid clinical depression but not those without clinical depression differ from healthy individuals in their implicit self-concept of neuroticism. In the associative network, BPD patients with comorbid clinical depression exhibit stronger associations of the self with neuroticism-related characteristics, such as nervousness, fearfulness, and uncertainty than healthy individuals. Regardless of depression, BPD patients show increased explicit neuroticism. Our findings provide evidence that the IAT neuroticism can be applied reliably to BPD patients.     

Understated Cognitive Impairment Assessed with the Clock-Drawing Test in Community-Dwelling Individuals Aged ≥50 Years

ObjectivesTo estimate the prevalence of understated cognitive impairment by administering the Clock-Drawing Test (CDT) to community-dwelling individuals aged ≥50 years and to investigate the associated clinical phenotype.DesignA cross-sectional analysis of baseline data on community-dwelling individuals assessed at an outpatient clinic in the Paris region of France.Setting and ParticipantsParticipants aged ≥50 years (n = 488, median age: 62.1 years) prospectively included in the SUCCessful agEing outpatiEnt's Department survey between 2010 and 2014.MethodsA multidimensional geriatric assessment, including cognition [7-point CDT, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the 5-word screening test (5-WT), and the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB)], gait speed in dual tasks, mood [the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)], balance, physical functions (gait speed and handgrip strength), nutrition, bone density, and comorbidities; major cardiovascular risk factors, and Scheltens and Fazekas scores on brain magnetic resonance imaging. Baseline characteristics were analyzed as a function of the CDT score (<7 vs 7), using age-adjusted logistic models.ResultsThe prevalence of impairment in the CDT was 23.6%; higher than the values for the MMSE (12.7%), 5-WT (2.3%), and FAB (16.6%). In age-adjusted analyses, a lower educational level (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 0.72 [0.58‒0.89]), diabetes (2.57 [1.14‒5.79]), metabolic syndrome (1.93 [1.05‒3.56]), lower gait speed in the cognitive dual task (1.27 [1.05‒1.53]), a poorer Geriatric Depression Scale score (1.86 [1.04‒3.32]), a poorer MMSE score (2.56 [1.35‒4.88]), a poorer FAB score (1.79 [1.01‒3.16]), impaired episodic memory in the 5-WT (4.11 [1.12‒15.02]), and a higher Scheltens score (P = .001) were significantly associated with CDT impairment.Conclusions and ImplicationsUnderstated cognitive impairment is common among young seniors and is associated with factors known to be linked to a higher risk of cognitive decline and dementia. These findings suggest that the CDT may be of value for identifying high-risk individuals who may then benefit from targeted multidomain prevention actions (diet, exercise, cognitive training, and vascular risk factor management).