Damani A. Piggott

Frailty, HIV infection, and mortality in an aging cohort of injection drug users.

Background Frailty is associated with morbidity and premature mortality among elderly HIV-uninfected adults, but the determinants and consequences of frailty in HIV-infected populations remain unclear. We evaluated the correlates of frailty, and the impact of frailty on mortality in a cohort of aging injection drug users (IDUs). Methods Frailty was assessed using standard criteria among HIV-infected and uninfected IDUs in 6-month intervals from 2005 to 2008. Generalized linear mixed-model analyses assessed correlates of frailty. Cox proportional hazards models estimated risk for all-cause mortality. Results Of 1230 participants at baseline, the median age was 48 years and 29% were HIV-infected; the frailty prevalence was 12.3%. In multivariable analysis of 3,365 frailty measures, HIV-infected IDUs had an increased likelihood of frailty (OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.24–2.21) compared to HIV-uninfected IDUs; the association was strongest (OR, 2.37; 95% CI, 1.62–3.48) among HIV-infected IDUs with advanced HIV disease (CD4<350 cells/mm3 and detectable HIV RNA). No significant association was seen with less advanced disease. Sociodemographic factors, comorbidity, depressive symptoms, and prescription drug abuse were also independently associated with frailty. Mortality risk was increased with frailty alone (HR 2.63, 95% CI, 1.23–5.66), HIV infection alone (HR 3.29, 95% CI, 1.85–5.88), and being both HIV-infected and frail (HR, 7.06; 95%CI 3.49–14.3). Conclusion Frailty was strongly associated with advanced HIV disease, but IDUs with well-controlled HIV had a similar prevalence to HIV-uninfected IDUs. Frailty was independently associated with mortality, with a marked increase in mortality risk for IDUs with both frailty and HIV infection.

Timing of Antiretroviral Therapy for HIV in the Setting of TB Treatment

The convergent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tuberculosis (TB) pandemics continue to collectively exact significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has been a critical component in combating the scourge of these two conditions as both a preemptive and therapeutic modality. However, concomitant administration of antiretroviral and antituberculous therapies poses significant challenges, including cumulative drug toxicities, drug-drug interactions, high pill burden, and the immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), thus complicating the management of coinfected individuals. This paper will review data from recent studies regarding the optimal timing of HAART initiation relative to TB treatment, with the ultimate goal of improving coinfection-related morbidity and mortality while mitigating toxicity resulting from concurrent treatment of both infections.

Frailty, Inflammation, and Mortality Among Persons Aging With HIV Infection and Injection Drug Use

BACKGROUND Serum markers of inflammation increase with age and have been strongly associated with adverse clinical outcomes among both HIV-infected and uninfected adults. Yet, limited data exist on the predictive and clinical utility of aggregate measures of inflammation. This study sought to evaluate the relationship of a recently validated aggregate inflammatory index with frailty and mortality among aging HIV-infected and uninfected injection drug users. METHODS Frailty was assessed among HIV-infected and uninfected participants in the AIDS Linked to the IntraVenous Experience (ALIVE) cohort study using the five Fried phenotypic criteria: weight loss, exhaustion, low physical activity, decreased grip strength, and slow gait. The aggregate inflammatory index was constructed from serum measures of interleukin-6 and soluble tumor necrosis factor-α receptor-1. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the relationship of frailty with inflammation. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate risk for all-cause mortality. RESULTS Among 1,326 subjects, the median age was 48 years and 29% were HIV-infected. Adjusting for sociodemographics, comorbidity, and HIV status, frailty was significantly associated with each standard deviation increase in log interleukin-6 (odds ratio 1.33; 95% CI, 1.09-1.61), log tumor necrosis factor-α receptor-1 (odds ratio 1.25; 95% CI, 1.04-1.51) and inflammatory index score (odds ratio 1.39; 95% CI, 1.14-1.68). Adjusting for sociodemographics, comorbidity, HIV status, and frailty, the inflammatory index score was independently associated with increased mortality (HR 1.65; 95% CI, 1.44-1.89). CONCLUSION A recently validated, simple, biologically informed inflammatory index is independently associated with frailty and mortality risk among aging HIV-infected and uninfected injection drug users.

The relationship of physical performance with HIV disease and mortality.

Objective:To evaluate whether HIV infection was associated with reduced physical performance, and to examine if reduced physical performance predicted mortality in our aging cohort of HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected persons. Design:Prospective, observational cohort of current and former injection drug users in the AIDS Linked to the IntraVenous Experience study in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Methods:The Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) was used as an objective measure of physical performance and measured semiannually along with behavioral and demographic data. Correlates of reduced physical performance (SPPB score ⩽10) were identified and the relationship between reduced physical performance, HIV infection and mortality was analyzed by Cox regression. Results:Among 12 270 person-visits contributed by 1627 participants, the median age was 51, 30.3% were HIV-infected and 32.6% had an SPPB score 10 or less. In multivariable models, HIV infection was independently associated with 30% increased odds of reduced physical performance [odds ratio 1.30; 95% confidence interval (CI):1.12–1.52]. Reduced physical performance predicted mortality in a dose-response manner and within all HIV disease strata. Whereas reduced physical performance alone (hazard ratio 2.52, 95% CI: 1.59–4.00) and HIV infection alone (hazard ratio 2.78, 95% CI: 1.70–4.54) increased mortality, HIV-infected participants with reduced physical performance had a six-fold increased mortality risk (hazard ratio 6.03, 95% CI: 3.80–10.0) compared with HIV-uninfected participants with higher physical performance. Conclusion:HIV infection was independently associated with reduced physical performance. HIV and reduced physical performance have independent and joint effects on mortality. Physical performance measurement may be an important research and clinical tool to predict adverse outcomes among aging HIV-infected persons.

The exposure assessment in current time study: implementation, feasibility, and acceptability of real-time data collection in a community cohort of illicit drug users.

Objective. We describe the study design and evaluate the implementation, feasibility, and acceptability of an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study of illicit drug users. Design. Four sequential field trials targeting observation of 30 individuals followed for a four week period. Participants. Participants were recruited from an ongoing community-cohort of current or former injection drug users. Of 113 individuals enrolled, 109 completed study procedures during four trials conducted from November 2008 to May 2013. Methods. Hand-held electronic diaries used in the initial trials were transitioned to a smartphone platform for the final trial with identical data collection. Random-prompts delivered five times daily assessed participant location, activity, mood, and social context. Event-contingent data collection involved participant self-reports of illicit drug use and craving. Main Outcome Measures. Feasibility measures included participant retention, days of followup, random-prompt response rates, and device loss rate. Acceptability was evaluated from an end-of-trial questionnaire. Sociodemographic, behavioral, clinical, and trial characteristics were evaluated as correlates of weekly random-prompt response rates ≥80% using logistic regression with generalized estimating equations. Results. Study participants were a median of 48.5 years old, 90% African American, 52% male, and 59% HIV-infected with limited income and educational attainment. During a median followup of 28 days, 78% of 11,181 random-prompts delivered were answered (mean of 2.8 responses daily), while 2,798 participant-initiated events were reported (30% drug use events; 70% craving events). Self-reported acceptability to study procedures was uniformly favorable. Device loss was rare (only 1 lost device every 190 person-days of observation). Higher educational attainment was consistently associated with a higher response rate to random-prompts, while an association of HIV infection with lower response rates was not observed after accounting for differences in trial recruitment procedures. Conclusion. Near real-time EMA data collection in the field is feasible and acceptable among community-dwelling illicit drug users. These data provide the basis for future studies of EMA-informed interventions to prevent drug relapse and improve HIV treatment outcomes in this population.

Characteristics and Treatment Outcomes of Propionibacterium acnes Prosthetic Shoulder Infections in Adults

P. acnes shoulder prosthetic joint infections were predominantly characterized by pain and functional loss. Inflammatory marker elevation occurred in just under 50% of cases. Isolates were broadly susceptible to guideline concordant antimicrobials. Antibiotic-only and combined antibiotic-surgical intervention outcomes were similar.

Frailty in HIV: Epidemiology, Biology, Measurement, Interventions, and Research Needs.

Frailty is a critical aging-related syndrome marked by diminished physiologic reserve and heightened vulnerability to stressors, predisposing to major adverse clinical outcomes, including hospitalization, institutionalization, disability, and death in the general population of older adults. As the proportion of older adults living with HIV increases in the era of antiretroviral therapy, frailty is increasingly recognized to be of significant clinical and public health relevance to the HIV-infected population. This article reviews current knowledge on the epidemiology and biology of frailty and its potential role as a target for reducing disparities in outcomes in HIV; conceptual frameworks and current approaches to frailty measurement; existing data on frailty interventions; and important areas for future research focus necessary to develop and advance effective strategies to prevent or ameliorate frailty and its marked adverse consequences among people living with HIV.

Uptake and Acceptability of Information and Communication Technology in a Community-Based Cohort of People Who Inject Drugs: Implications for Mobile Health Interventions

Background Mobile phone and Internet-based technologies are increasingly used to disseminate health information and facilitate delivery of medical care. While these strategies hold promise for reducing barriers to care for medically-underserved populations, their acceptability among marginalized populations such as people who inject drugs is not well-understood. Objective To understand patterns of mobile phone ownership, Internet use and willingness to receive health information via mobile devices among people who inject drugs. Methods We surveyed current and former drug injectors participating in a longitudinal cohort study in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Respondents completed a 12-item, interviewer-administered questionnaire during a regular semi-annual study visit that assessed their use of mobile technology and preferred modalities of receiving health information. Using data from the parent study, we used logistic regression to evaluate associations among participants’ demographic and clinical characteristics and their mobile phone and Internet use. Results The survey was completed by 845 individuals, who had a median age of 51 years. The sample was 89% African-American, 65% male, and 33% HIV-positive. Participants were generally of low education and income levels. Fewer than half of respondents (40%) indicated they had ever used the Internet. Mobile phones were used by 86% of respondents. Among mobile phone owners, 46% had used their phone for text messaging and 25% had accessed the Internet on their phone. A minority of respondents (42%) indicated they would be interested in receiving health information via phone or Internet. Of those receptive to receiving health information, a mobile phone call was the most favored modality (66%) followed by text messaging (58%) and Internet (51%). Conclusions Utilization of information and communication technology among this cohort of people who inject drugs was reported at a lower level than what has been estimated for the general U.S. population. Our findings identify a potential barrier to successful implementation of mobile health and Internet-based interventions for people who inject drugs, particularly those who are older and have lower levels of income and educational attainment. As mobile communication technology continues to expand, future studies should re-examine whether mHealth applications become more accessible and accepted by socioeconomically disadvantaged groups.

Role of Suppressive Oral Antibiotics in Orthopedic Hardware Infections for Those Not Undergoing Two-Stage Replacement Surgery

Suppressive oral antibiotics for at least three months, but not at least six months, are associated with treatment success at one year post-diagnosis of orthopedic hardware infection.

Frailty and Cause-Specific Hospitalization Among Persons Aging With HIV Infection and Injection Drug Use

Background Hospitalization events exact a substantial toll across the age spectrum. Frailty is associated with all-cause hospitalization among HIV-uninfected adults aged 65 years and older. Limited data exist on the frailty relationship to hospitalization among HIV-infected persons or those aged less than 65 years. Comparative investigation of the frailty relationship to specific classes of hospitalizations has rarely been reported among adults of any age. This study sought to determine the frailty relationship to three distinct classes of hospitalization events among HIV-infected persons and their uninfected counterparts. Methods Frailty was ascertained semiannually among persons with prior injection drug use using the five Fried phenotypic domains. Hospitalization events were categorized using Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality clinical classification software into chronic, infectious, and nonchronic, noninfectious conditions. Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the frailty relationship to time to first hospitalization event. Results Among 1,303 subjects, mean age was 48 years; 32% were HIV-infected. Adjusting for sociodemographics, comorbidity, substance use, and HIV disease stage, time-updated frailty status was associated with risk for all hospitalization classes. Baseline frailty was significantly associated with all-cause (hazards ratio [HR] 1.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06, 1.87), chronic (HR 2.13; 95% CI, 1.46, 3.11), and infectious disease hospitalization (HR 2.51; 95% CI, 1.60, 3.91) but not with nonchronic, noninfectious hospitalization risk (HR 1.09; 95% CI, 0.74, 1.61). Conclusion The frailty phenotype predicts vulnerability to chronic and infectious disease-related hospitalization. Frailty-targeted interventions may mitigate the substantial burden of infectious and chronic disease-related morbidity and health care utilization in HIV-infected and uninfected populations.