Dipstick urinalysis should be documented prior to initiating antiretroviral therapy

Non-AIDS-defining cancers: should antiretroviral therapy be initiated earlier?

Non-AIDS-defining cancers have recently gained more attention, and it appears that several of these cancers may be more common the the HAART era. By most accounts in the literature, the overall risk of non-AIDS-defining cancer in HIV-infected persons is 2 to 3 times that in the general population. In this article, we review the literature on 5 of the most common non-AIDS-defining cancers (Hodgk...

When should antiretroviral therapy be started in HIV-positive persons?

Recommendations for the initiation of combination antiretroviral therapy in HIV-positive individuals are largely based on data from observational studies. Whilst all guidelines recommend immediate treatment in individuals with a CD4 count of less than 350 cells/mm(3), guidelines vary in their recommendations for treatment at higher CD4 counts. Several large cohort studies have published finding...

Should patients be able to follow commands prior to extubation?

The determination of optimal timing of liberation from mechanical ventilation requires a thorough assessment of multiple variables that can result in extubation failure. It is estimated that 5-20% of extubations fail. Traditional weaning parameters fail to predict extubation failure accurately, and attention has thus turned to improvements in extubation decision making through assessment of ele...

Universal antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection: should US treatment guidelines be applied to resource-limited settings?

US treatment guidelines now recommend antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), regardless of CD4 count, both for the benefit of infected individuals and to prevent HIV transmission. In an effort to meet the critical goal of treating all HIV-infected persons worldwide, there is movement toward extrapolating these guidelines and the data suppo...

How should access to antiretroviral treatment be measured?