CHIRIANNI A.

Objectives: The disposition of antiretroviral agents into genital tissue and fluids is one of the factors implicated in the control of viral replication within the male genital tract and should be an objective of highly active antiretroviral therapy. We have investigated didanosine penetration in seminal plasma of 16 HIV-infected patients....

The Italian Society for Infectious and Tropical Diseases (SIMIT) in collaboration with the Technical Health Committee (Sections L and M) of the Italian Ministry of Health have supported the renewal of the recommendations for the Italian guidelines for the use of antiretroviral agents and the diagnostic-clinical management of HIV-1 infected...

Patients coinfected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are at high risk of liver disease progression. We report a favorable safety profile and SVR12 rates of 96.7% among HIV/HCV coinfected patients participating in an Italian compassionate-use program of ombitasvir/ paritaprevir/ritonavir + dasabuvir (OBV/PTV/r...

Background: In patients with HIV, immune reconstitution after antiretroviral therapy (ART) is often incomplete. We assessed the probability of patients reaching a CD4/CD8 ratio of 1 or more after the start of ART and its association with the onset of non-AIDS-defining events and death. Methods: We did an analysis of the ICONA cohort, which...

Background: Social determinants are known to be a driving force of health inequalities, even in high income countries. Aim of our study was to determine if these factors can limit antiretroviral therapy (ART) access, outcome and retention in care of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Italy. Methods: All ART naïve HIV+ patients (pts) of Italian...

Objectives: Tropism evolution of HIV-1 quasispecies was analysed by ultra-deep pyrosequencing (UDPS) in patients on first-line combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) always suppressed or experiencing virological failure episodes. Methods: Among ICONA patients, two groups of 20 patients on cART for ≥5 years, matched for baseline viraemia and...

Objective To estimate the incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) seroconversion and the risk of severe fibrosis/cirrhosis in HCV seroconverters among persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Methods We analysed data on 4059 persons with HIV enrolled in a cohort study in Italy. Results Incidence rate of seroconversion was 0.6/100...

Objective: To analyze the association between chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections with type 2 diabetes in HIV-infected patients. Methods: HIV-1-infected patients enrolled in ICONA, a prospective cohort study involving 42 tertiary care centers in Italy, were selected with the following characteristics: for the...

Objectives: Our aim was to investigate the durability of different initial regimens in patients starting ART with CD4+ counts <200 cells/mm3 and HIV-RNA >5 log10 copies/mL. Methods: This was a retrospective study of HIV-infected patients prospectively followed in the ICONA cohort. Those who started ART with boosted protease inhibitors (bPIs),...

Background: The CD4/CD8 ratio has been associated with the risk of AIDS and non-AIDS events. We describe trends in immunological parameters in people who underwent a switch to monotherapy or dual therapy, compared to a control group remaining on triple antiretroviral therapy (ART). Methods: We included patients in Icona who started a three-drug...

Objectives: The management of HIV disease is complicated by the incidence of a new spectrum of comorbid noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). It is important to document changes in the prevalence of NCDs over time. The aim of the study was to describe the impact of ageing on HIV markers and on the prevalence of NCDs in people living with HIV...

Objectives We evaluated the association between pre-ART HIV DNA and HIV-infected participant characteristics at baseline as well as with their response to first-line ART. Methods Four hundred and thirty-three patients from the ICONA cohort, starting first-line ART after the year 2000, were analysed. Pre-ART HIV DNA was quantified with the...

Background Alcohol consumption is a known risk factor for liver disease in HIV-infected populations. Therefore, knowledge of alcohol consumption behaviour and risk of disease progression associated with hazardous drinking are important in the overall management of HIV disease. We aimed at assessing the usefulness of routine data collected on...