Ojectives Among a subgroup of participants in the Strategies for Management of Antiretroviral Therapy (SMART) Trial that were naïve to antiretroviral therapy (ART) or off ART (≥6 months) at study entry, risk of AIDS and serious non-AIDS events was increased for participants who deferred ART compared to those randomized to (re)initiate ART immediately. Our objective was to determine whether ART initiation in this group reduced markers of inflammation and coagulation that have been associated with increased mortality risk in SMART. Changes in these biomarkers have been described after stopping ART, but not after starting ART in SMART. Methods Stored specimens for 254 participants (126 DC and 128 VS) who were naïve to ART or off ART (≥6 months) were analyzed for interleukin-6 (IL-6), high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and D-dimer at baseline and months 2 and 6. Results At month 6, 62% of VS group had HIV RNA <400copies/mL and median CD4 count was 190 cells/mm3 higher than for the DC group (590 vs. 400 cells/mm3). Compared with DC, the VS group had 32% (95%CI: 19 to 43%) lower D-dimer levels at month 6 (p<0.001); differences were not significant for hsCRP or IL-6 levels. Conclusions In this randomized comparison of immediate versus delayed ART initiation, D-dimer, but not IL-6 and hsCRP, declined significantly after starting ART. Further studies are needed to determine whether improvements in D-dimer are associated with reduced risk of clinical disease, and whether adjunct treatments used in combination with ART can reduce inflammation among individuals with HIV infection.

Background: Ventral hernia repairs are common and have high recurrence rates. They are usually repaired laparoscopically with an intraperitoneal mesh, which can be fixed in various ways. The aim was to evaluate the recurrence rates for the different fixation techniques.

This nationwide cohort study showed a reduced risk of re-operation for recurrence if defect closure was performed in addition to permanent tacks as mesh fixation during laparoscopic incisional hernia repair.