Active clinical trials for "AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections"

This study will evaluate the implementation of an enhanced package of care, CD4 and tuberculosis lipoarabinomannan (TB-LAM) tests and the initiation of patients on TB prophylaxis [TPT and CPT], on retention in care and viral suppression ((<50 copies/ml) at 6 and 12 months after AHD care and treatment enrollment. The study will also assess the change in AHD screening, management and service uptake indicators among PLHIV clients before and after implementation of the QI collaborative implementation (QICI) project, evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of the AHD package of care among patients and HCWs providing related health services, and conduct a cost analysis of implementing the enhanced AHD package of care in a hub-and-spoke implementation of care model.

Cryptococcal meningitis or "Crypto" is a life threatening fungal infection around the brain that requires hospitalization for treatment for 14 days and then continued therapy. Crypto causes 15-20% of HIV/AIDS-related deaths worldwide. However, this infection can be detected before one develops symptoms and becomes ill. People can be screened for infection by a blood test to detect "cryptococcal antigen," (called CrAg), which is part of the fungus, in blood. The World Health Organization and over 22 countries worldwide recommend CrAg screening of all persons with advanced AIDS entering or re-entering into HIV care. However, it is not known how best to treat people with cryptococcal antigen in their blood, who don't otherwise yet have symptoms of infection around their brain. If no treatment is given, almost all people will develop infection of the brain and/or die. International guidelines suggest using both HIV medicines and an anti-fungal medicine, called fluconazole, to treat this early infection. However, despite this treatment approximately 1 in 4 people may get sick and/or die. Researchers have recently discovered another medicine that may work against the Cryptococcus fungus. This medicine is called Sertraline, and it is actually a medicine that has been used for more than 25 years to treat depression (sadness). Sertraline is one of the most commonly used medicines worldwide. The purpose of this research clinical trial is to determine if standard fluconazole antifungal therapy plus a high dose of Sertraline, will be better than standard fluconazole therapy alone for treating early disseminated cryptococcal infection in persons who are asymptomatic and do not yet have infection of the brain (i.e. meningitis). This study seeks to test if Sertraline will improve survival through 6-months. Prior studies have shown that >90% of those who survive 6-months will survive >5 years.

Rationale: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is increasingly used by various specialists in the Netherlands, but its role in managing patients with HIV is unclear. In settings endemic for tuberculosis, Fast Assessment with Sonography for HIV/Tuberculosis (FASH) has proven its value to detect extrapulmonary tuberculosis in patients with HIV. However, there is no data to support POCUS for patients with HIV in resource affluent settings. Objective: The investigators aim to determine the feasibility and diagnostic value of POCUS in detecting opportunistic disease in HIV patients with advanced disease stages in the Netherlands. Study design: The investigators will perform a prospective observational pilot study. Study population: The investigators will include new adult patients with HIV presenting with a cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) T-cell count below 350 cells/mm3, and all adult HIV patients requiring admission to hospital. Intervention (if applicable): The investigators will perform a focused ultrasound examination including FASH, and ultrasound of the lung, liver and kidneys. In case of positive findings additional examinations will be undertaken to determine the underlying pathology and/or treatment started as indicated. In case of negative findings, patients will be followed for 12 months to observe for (possibly missed) opportunistic infections. Main study parameters/endpoints: Our primary outcomes include acceptability of POCUS by patients, interobserver variation in interpretation of POCUS images, and number of diagnosed AIDS and non-AIDS related problems. Secondary outcomes include sensitivity and specificity, negative predictive value and positive predictive value of our POCUS protocol. In addition, incidence rates of opportunistic infections will be compared to a historical matched control group. Nature and extent of the burden and risks associated with participation, benefit and group relatedness: The ultrasound examination is painless and without risk to the participants. It will take approximately 30 minutes and will be combined with routine visits to the hospital. Benefits include potential earlier detection of opportunistic disease, while adverse effects may arise from false positive findings requiring further examinations which may cause stress or anxiety. The rate of false positive findings in POCUS has not been formally investigated, but appears low. The effect of POCUS in advanced HIV/AIDS can only be studied in HIV patients.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of starting anti-HIV drugs in HIV infected patients who are being treated for opportunistic infections (OIs). This study will follow two patient groups: those who received anti-HIV drugs soon after being diagnosed with an OI and patients with OIs who deferred beginning anti-HIV drugs until after recovering from the OI.

The DREAMM project is investigating whether the DREAMM interventions (1) Health system strengthening, 2) Co-designed education programs tailored to frontline healthcare workers, 3) Implementation of a diagnostic and treatment algorithm and, 4) Communities of practice in infectious diseases and laboratory capacity building) when combined reduce two week all-cause mortality of HIV-associated meningo-encephalitis in African LMICs.

This is a multicenter prospective cohort evaluation of the implementation of a cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) screening program at selected outpatient HIV clinics (OPCs) and network laboratories in Vietnam.