Friedman, Harvey M
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Publication Subtype Distribution of Human Papillomavirus in HIV-Infected Women With Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia Stages 2 and 3 in Botswana(2011-11-01) Ramogola-Masire, Doreen; McGrath, Cindy M; Barnhart, Kurt T; Friedman, Harvey M; Zetola, Nicola MHuman papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines containing types 16 and 18 are likely to be effective in preventing cervical cancer associated with these HPV types. No information currently exists in Botswana concerning the HPV types causing precancerous or cancerous lesions. Our goal was to determine the prevalence of HPV types associated with precancerous cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) stages 2 and 3 in HIV-infected women in Gaborone, Botswana. HIV-infected women referred to our clinic with high-grade intraepithelial lesion on the Pap smear were enrolled in the study. HPV typing was only performed if the histopathology results showed CIN stage 2 or 3 disease using linear array genotyping (CE-IVD, Roche Diagnostics).One hundred HIV-infected women were identified with CIN stages 2 or 3 between August 11, 2009 and September 29, 2010. Eighty-two of 100 women enrolled had coinfection by multiple HPV subtypes (range, 2 to 12). Of the remaining 18 women, 14 were infected with a single high-risk subtype and 4 had no HPV detected. Overall, 92 (92%) women were infected with at least 1 high-risk HPV subtype, and 56 were coinfected with more than 1 high-risk HPV type (range, 2 to 5). Fifty-one (51%) women had HPV subtypes 16, 18, or both. HPV 16 and 18 are the most common types in HIV-infected women with CIN 2 or 3 in Gaborone, Botswana, suggesting that the implementation of HPV vaccination programs could have a significant impact on the reduction of cervical cancer incidence. However, given the relative lack of knowledge on the natural history of cervical cancer in HIV-infected women and the significant prevalence of infection and coinfection with other high-risk HPV types in our sample, the true impact and cost-effectiveness of such vaccination programs need to be evaluated.Publication Overestimates of Survival After HAART: Implications for Global Scale-Up Efforts(2008-03-05) Bisson, Gregory P; Gross, Robert; Bellamy, Scarlett; Gaolathe, Tendani; Friedman, Harvey M; Rollins, Caitlin; Frank, Ian; Mogorosi, Mpho; Avalos, Ava; Dickinson, Diana; Ndwapi, NdwapiBackground Monitoring the effectiveness of global antiretroviral therapy scale-up efforts in resource-limited settings is a global health priority, but is complicated by high rates of losses to follow-up after treatment initiation. Determining definitive outcomes of these lost patients, and the effects of losses to follow-up on estimates of survival and risk factors for death after HAART, are key to monitoring the effectiveness of global HAART scale-up efforts. Methodology/Principal Findings A cohort study comparing clinical outcomes and risk factors for death after HAART initiation as reported before and after tracing of patients lost to follow-up was conducted in Botswana's National Antiretroviral Therapy Program. 410 HIV-infected adults consecutively presenting for HAART were evaluated. The main outcome measures were death or loss to follow-up within the first year after HAART initiation. Of 68 patients initially categorized as lost, over half (58.8%) were confirmed dead after tracing. Patient tracing resulted in reporting of significantly lower survival rates when death was used as the outcome and losses to follow-up were censored [1-year Kaplan Meier survival estimate 0.92 (95% confidence interval, 0.88–0.94 before tracing and 0.83 (95% confidence interval, 0.79–0.86) after tracing, log rank P<0.001]. In addition, a significantly increased risk of death after HAART among men [adjusted hazard ratio 1.74 (95% confidence interval, 1.05–2.87)] would have been missed had patients not been traced [adjusted hazard ratio 1.41 (95% confidence interval, 0.65–3.05)]. Conclusions/Significance Due to high rates of death among patients lost to follow-up after HAART, survival rates may be inaccurate and important risk factors for death may be missed if patients are not actively traced. Patient tracing and uniform reporting of outcomes after HAART are needed to enable accurate monitoring of global HAART scale-up efforts.