HIV-positive status disclosure in patients in care in rural South Africa: implications for scaling up treatment and prevention interventions.

CAPRISA, 2015Abstract available in pdf

Epidemiology and outcomes of critically ill patients in the emergency department of a tertiary teaching hospital in Rwanda

Abstract Background The introduction of Emergency Medicine in Rwanda in 2015 has been associated with a mortality reduction in patients presenting to Kigali University Teaching Hospital (KUTH). In the context of increasing numbers of critically ill patients presenting to Emergency Departments (ED) globally, the aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of critically ill patients, the critical care interventions performed, and the outcomes of critically ill patients presenting to the KUTH ED with the goal of informing future research into the root causes of mortality of critically ill ED patients and of identifying high yield topics for didactic and procedural training. Methods A descriptive observational prospective cohort pilot study analyzed all patients ≥15 years who presented to KUTH between April and June 2022 with modified South African Triage Scores of Red with alarm, Red without alarm, and Orange. Results Of 320 patients, 66.9% were male and median age was 40 years. Patients were triaged as Orange (65.3%), Red without alarm (22.8%), and Red with alarm (11.9%). Presentations were categorized as: medical emergencies (48.0%), traumatic injury (44.5%), and surgical emergencies (7.6%). Median length of stay was 31 h (IQR 28, 56) and boarding was 23 h (IQR 8, 48). Overall mortality was 12.2% and highest among medical emergencies (16.5%, p = 0.048) and increased significantly with triage color: Red with alarm (47.4%), Red without alarm (16.4%), and Orange (4.3%, p < 0.0001). Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (10.3%), endotracheal intubation (8.8%), and vasopressor administration (3.1%) were the most frequent critical interventions performed. Survival after cardiac arrest was 9.1% and 32.1% after intubation. Mortality was associated with the following interventions: CPR, intubation, and use of vasopressors (p < 0.05). Conclusions This pilot study identified the most common critical care interventions performed and a high mortality among patients who required these interventions in the ED of a tertiary teaching hospital in Rwanda. These findings will inform didactics and procedural training for emergency care providers. Future research should focus on the root causes of mortality in these specific patient populations and identify areas of system strengthening to reduce mortality

709. Multidisciplinary Drug Use Endocarditis Team (DUET): Results From an Academic Center Cohort

Abstract Background Guidelines recommend multidisciplinary models for the management of infective endocarditis but have failed to incorporate the unique challenges of treating drug-use associated infective endocarditis (DUA-IE). Given the drug use and overdose epidemic with rising cases of DUA-IE, we created a multidisciplinary Drug Use Endocarditis Team (DUET), which convened monthly case conferences among the specialties involved, including Infectious Diseases, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Cardiology and Addiction Medicine. Objective: To conduct a retrospective cohort study of the patients presented at the DUET conferences from August 2018 to February 2020 to (1) assess clinical and demographic characteristics and (2) describe clinical outcomes. Methods A retrospective chart review was conducted to analyze 57 patient cases, including descriptive statistical analyses of demographics, clinical characteristics, and outcomes. Results Among our DUET cohort, 43.8% represented isolated right-sided endocarditis, and 84% involved native valve. Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus was the most common microorganism isolated. ID was consulted in 94.7% of cases and overall 43.9% completed the planned antimicrobial course. The 7 patients who developed relapse/recurrent IE were initially managed medically, and 5 did not complete the initial antimicrobial course. Formal cardiothoracic surgery consultation was obtained in 57.9% and 24.6% were managed operatively. Of the patients managed operatively, 64.3% completed the antimicrobial course. The rate of antibiotic completion was higher among patients managed operatively but did not reach statistical significance (p=0.08). Formal addiction medicine consultation was obtained in 85.9% of cases, with 63.1% discharged on medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). The rate of MOUD on discharge was not significantly different between patients managed operatively and non-operatively. Figure 1: Patient Characteristics Figure 2: Infection Characteristics Figure 3: Outcome Analyses Conclusion ID is nearly universally involved in the care of patients with DUA-IE, but this patient population requires input from numerous sub-specialties. Multidisciplinary care teams provide a promising framework for DUA-IE to enhance and integrate nuanced decision-making. Disclosures Sarah E. Wakeman, MD, Celero Systems (Advisor or Review Panel member)Optum Labs (Grant/Research Support)UpToDate (Other Financial or Material Support, Author) </jats:sec

Creation of a Multidisciplinary Drug Use Endocarditis Treatment (DUET) Team: Initial Patient Characteristics, Outcomes, and Future Directions

Abstract Background Consensus guidelines recommend multidisciplinary models to manage infective endocarditis, yet often do not address the unique challenges of treating people with drug use–associated infective endocarditis (DUA-IE). Our center is among the first to convene a Drug Use Endocarditis Treatment (DUET) team composed of specialists from Infectious Disease, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Cardiology, and Addiction Medicine. Methods The objective of this study was to describe the demographics, infectious characteristics, and clinical outcomes of the first cohort of patients cared for by the DUET team. This was a retrospective chart review of patients referred to the DUET team between August 2018 and May 2020 with DUA-IE. Results Fifty-seven patients were presented to the DUET team between August 2018 and May 2020. The cohort was young, with a median age of 35, and injected primarily opioids (82.5% heroin/fentanyl), cocaine (52.6%), and methamphetamine (15.8%). Overall, 14 individuals (24.6%) received cardiac surgery, and the remainder (75.4%) were managed with antimicrobial therapy alone. Nearly 65% of individuals were discharged on medication for opioid use disorder, though less than half (36.8%) were discharged with naloxone and only 1 patient was initiated on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis. Overall, the cohort had a high rate of readmission (42.1%) within 90 days of discharge. Conclusions Multidisciplinary care models such as the DUET team can help integrate nuanced decision-making from numerous subspecialties. They can also increase the uptake of addiction medicine and harm reduction tools, but further efforts are needed to integrate harm reduction strategies and improve follow-up in future iterations of the DUET team model. </jats:sec

Periconception HIV Risk Behavior Among Men and Women Reporting HIV-Serodiscordant Partners in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

HIV-infected men and women who choose to conceive risk infecting their partners. To inform safer conception programs we surveyed HIV risk behavior prior to recent pregnancy amongst South African, HIV-infected women (209) and men (82) recruited from antenatal and antiretroviral clinics, respectively, and reporting an uninfected or unknown-HIV-serostatus pregnancy partner. All participants knew their HIV-positive serostatus prior to the referent pregnancy. Only 11% of women and 5% of men had planned the pregnancy; 40% of women and 27% of men reported serostatus disclosure to their partner before conception. Knowledge of safer conception strategies was low. Around two-thirds reported consistent condom use, 41% of women and 88% of men reported antiretroviral therapy, and a third of women reported male partner circumcision prior to the referent pregnancy. Seven women (3%) and two men (2%) reported limiting sex without condoms to peak fertility. None reported sperm washing or manual insemination. Safer conception behaviors including HIV-serostatus disclosure, condom use, and ART at the time of conception were not associated with desired pregnancy. In light of low pregnancy planning and HIV-serostatus disclosure, interventions to improve understandings of serodiscordance and motivate mutual HIV-serostatus disclosure and pregnancy planning are necessary first steps before couples or individuals can implement specific safer conception strategies