Introduction Interruptions in treatment pose risks for people with HIV (PWH) and threaten progress in ending the HIV epidemic; however, the COVID‐19 pandemic's impact on HIV service delivery across diverse settings is not broadly documented. Methods From September 2020 to March 2021, the International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) research consortium surveyed 238 HIV care sites across seven geographic regions to document constraints in HIV service delivery during the first year of the pandemic and strategies for ensuring care continuity for PWH. Descriptive statistics were stratified by national HIV prevalence (<1%, 1–4.9% and ≥5%) and country income levels. Results Questions about pandemic‐related consequences for HIV care were completed by 225 (95%) sites in 42 countries with low ( n = 82), medium ( n = 86) and high ( n = 57) HIV prevalence, including low‐ ( n = 57), lower‐middle ( n = 79), upper‐middle ( n = 39) and high‐ ( n = 50) income countries. Most sites reported being subject to pandemic‐related restrictions on travel, service provision or other operations (75%), and experiencing negative impacts (76%) on clinic operations, including decreased hours/days, reduced provider availability, clinic reconfiguration for COVID‐19 services, record‐keeping interruptions and suspension of partner support. Almost all sites in low‐prevalence and high‐income countries reported increased use of telemedicine (85% and 100%, respectively), compared with less than half of sites in high‐prevalence and lower‐income settings. Few sites in high‐prevalence settings (2%) reported suspending antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinic services, and many reported adopting mitigation strategies to support adherence, including multi‐month dispensing of ART (95%) and designating community ART pick‐up points (44%). While few sites (5%) reported stockouts of first‐line ART regimens, 10–11% reported stockouts of second‐ and third‐line regimens, respectively, primarily in high‐prevalence and lower‐income settings. Interruptions in HIV viral load (VL) testing included suspension of testing (22%), longer turnaround times (41%) and supply/reagent stockouts (22%), but did not differ across settings. Conclusions While many sites in high HIV prevalence settings and lower‐income countries reported introducing or expanding measures to support treatment adherence and continuity of care, the COVID‐19 pandemic resulted in disruptions to VL testing and ART supply chains that may negatively affect the quality of HIV care in these settings.
BRASH (bradycardia, renal failure, atrioventricular-node blockers, shock, and hyperkalemia) syndrome is a recently coined term for a condition that describes the severe bradycardia and shock associated with hyperkalemia in patients on atrioventricular (AV)-node blocking agents. The proposed pathophysiology involves a precipitating event that exacerbates renal dysfunction with resulting AV-node blocker and potassium accumulation that act synergistically to precipitate bradycardia and hypotension. This syndrome may be refractory to the usual management of bradycardia. This case describes BRASH syndrome precipitated by trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole.
While intussusception is rarely seen in adults, it is typically obstructive in nature when it does occur. Even less commonly seen is transient intussusception, which occurs without a radiological lead point or any evidence of bowel obstruction. Such findings consist of a “target pattern” seen on computed tomography (CT) but are incidental and do not require any surgical intervention. We report the case of a 31-year-old female who presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. CT imaging revealed transient intussusception, a benign finding that is not well established in emergency medicine literature.
Rhabdomyolysis is a syndrome caused by injury to skeletal muscle and subsequent release of intracellular components into the systemic circulation. We report a case of rhabdomyolysis causing acute paralysis from underlying and unrecognized hypothyroidism in an 11-year-old girl. To date, publications of rhabdomyolysis secondary to hypothyroidism have been limited, especially in the pediatric population. Early intervention with intravenous fluids and levothyroxine led to resolution of our patient's symptoms and is overall important in preventing the serious sequela of rhabdomyolysis including renal failure, cardiac dysrhythmias, compartment syndrome, and disseminated intravascular coagulation.
Aortoiliac occlusive disease (AOD) is a rare presentation of thrombosis of the abdominal aorta. Also known as Leriche syndrome, its classic description entails claudication of the buttocks, thighs, and calves, absent femoral pulses, and impotence. AOD risk factors include smoking, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, chronic renal insufficiency, and hypercoagulopathy. Ischemic complications of gastrointestinal malperfusion, renal infarction, and paralysis secondary to spinal cord ischemia are also noted. This case describes AOD complicated by a Stanford Type B aortic dissection leading to multi-system organ failure. A brief review of the literature further elucidates the key risk factors in identifying and treating Leriche syndrome.
Heparin, one of the world’s oldest anticoagulation medications, accelerates the rate ofinhibition of previously activated clotting factors. It is most often used in the prophylaxis andtreatment of thromboembolic disorders and complications associated with atrial fibrillation.The two most common ways to monitor plasma heparin levels and anticoagulation therapyare the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and anti-factor Xa assay (anti-Xa). Thisarticle assesses the performance of aPTT and anti-Xa monitoring protocols and analyzes thediscordance between aPTT and anti-Xa levels and its clinical implications in patients receivingintravenous heparin therapy.
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