Article on Drug Resistance Testing; Audit Report on CDC Grant Management; Report on HIV/AIDS Among Black Youth; Guidelines for Physicians Treating Displaced HIV-Positive People
- "Should Resistance Testing Be Performed for Treatment-Naive HIV-Infected Patients? A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis," Clinical Infectious Diseases: This article by Paul Sax of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and colleagues concludes that drug resistance testing for HIV-positive people at the time of HIV diagnosis is cost-effective and could increase patients' life expectancy. In an accompanying editorial, Frederick Hecht and Robert Grant of the University of California-San Francisco agree that there is sufficient evidence to warrant testing treatment-naive patients but caution that some genetic mutations might not be detectable with standard genotypic testing. Hecht and Grant state they have received support from various pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies (Clinical Infectious Diseases release, 9/26).
- "Management of HIV/AIDS Prevention Grants by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," HHS Office of Inspector General: The audit, which covers fiscal years 1999 through 2003, found that CDC did not always comply with applicable laws, regulations and departmental policies in managing its HIV/AIDS prevention grants. The audit recommends that CDC continue to monitor its grant management operations to ensure complete compliance (HHS OIG report, 9/8).
- "Reclaiming Our Future: The State of AIDS Among Black Youth," Black AIDS Institute: The report -- written by Cathy Cohen, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, and colleagues Alexandra Bell and Mosi Ifantunji -- is the second in a series of reports examining the state of the HIV/AIDS epidemic among blacks in the U.S. The report highlights some key factors in which HIV intersects with the broader social challenges that black youth face, discusses how policymakers and popular culture have contributed to the problem and introduces ideas for rectifying the situation (Black AIDS Institute release, 9/22).
- "Recommendations for Non-HIV-Specialized Providers Caring for Displaced HIV-Infected Residents from the Hurricane Disasters": The recommendations offer guidance to general practitioners treating HIV-positive adult or pediatric patients who have been displaced by recent hurricanes and who have not yet secured HIV medical care in local areas. The guidelines were prepared by the Panel on Clinical Practices for Treatment of HIV Infection, the Perinatal HIV Guidelines Working Group, the Working Group on Antiretroviral Therapy and Medical Management of HIV-Infected Children, and the USPHS/IDSA Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections Working Groups (FDA release, 9/23).