PPD skin reactivity and anergy in HIV-infected patients in Hawaii.

This study was a prospective screening study for PPD and anergy skin test reactivity in 304 HIV-positive individuals. A PPD positivity rate of 4.1% and an anergy rate of 50.5% were observed. The Hawaii HIV population has a relatively low prevalence of latent TB compared with the high prevalence of TB in the Hawaii population at large.RR 03061/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/United State

HIV-Negative Partnered Men's Willingness to Use Non-Occupational Post-Exposure Prophylaxis and Associated Factors in a U.S. Sample of HIV-Negative and HIV-Discordant Male Couples

Purpose: Non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis (nPEP) is an underutilized biomedical option for HIV prevention. Few studies have assessed male couples' knowledge of and willingness to use nPEP. Methods: Cross-sectional dyadic data from 275 HIV-negative and 58 HIV-discordant male couples were used to describe HIV-negative, partnered men's awareness of and willingness to use nPEP, and factors associated with their willingness to use nPEP. Data were analyzed with the use of multivariate multilevel modeling. Results: Less than a third of the men were aware of nPEP, yet 73% were very-to-extremely likely to use nPEP. Partnered men's willingness to use nPEP was positively associated with having an individual income less than $30,000 USD and serosorting within the relationship. Willingness to use nPEP was negatively associated with greater age difference between primary partners and with higher scores on measures of couples' investment in their relationship. Conclusion: Efforts should be made to increase male couples' awareness of nPEP and how to access nPEP. Uptake of nPEP has the potential to help avert new HIV infections among male couples

Updated trends in imaging use in men diagnosed with prostate cancer

Background:Previous studies have found persistent overuse of imaging for clinical staging of men with low-risk prostate cancer. We aimed to determine imaging trends in three cohorts of men.Methods:We analyzed imaging trends of men with prostate cancer who were a part of Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor (CaPSURE) (1998-2006), were insured by Medicare (1998-2006), or privately insured (Ingenix database, 2002-2006). The rates of computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and bone scan (BS) were determined and time trends were analyzed by linear regression. For men in CaPSURE, demographic and clinical predictors of test use were explored using a multivariable regression model.Results:Since 1998, there was a significant downward trend in BS (16%) use in the CaPSURE cohort (N=5156). There were slight downward trends (2.4 and 1.7%, respectively) in the use of CT and MRI. Among 54 322 Medicare patients, BS, CT and MRI use increased by 2.1, 10.8 and 2.2% and among 16 161 privately insured patients, use increased by 7.9, 8.9 and 3.7%, respectively. In CaPSURE, the use of any imaging test was greater in men with higher-risk disease. In addition, type of insurance and treatment affected the use of imaging tests in this population.Conclusions:There is widespread misuse of imaging tests in men with low-risk prostate cancer, particularly for CT. These findings highlight the need for examination of factors that drive decision making with respect to imaging in this setting. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited