Trending News: Antiretroviral Initiation Successful in Infant Patients With HIV

Young black and Hispanic patients experience better outcomes after suffering a stroke than young white patients, according to MD Magazine. A prospective, multicenter study included approximately 1000 non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic patients aged 18 years and older who had suffered a hemorrhagic stroke. The results indicated that young black patients and young Hispanic patients had a 58% and 66% lower risk, respectively, of functionally disabilities or mortality within 3 months compared with young white patients.

A study conducted in Botswana highlights the need for the immediate initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in infants with HIV to achieve optimum health outcomes, according to Contagion Live. The Early Infant Treatment Study enrolled 40 infants who were HIV-positive and who were given an ART regimen within a week of their birth, at a median age of 2 days. The study authors found that very early treatment of pediatric patients with HIV lead to a rapid viral load reduction and a decrease in the total amount of virus in the patient’s body.

The US Surgeon General, Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH, has released the first report since 1990 that focuses solely on smoking cessation in the United States, according to The American Journal of Managed Care. The report outlines progress by smoking cessation efforts in the last 30 years, indicating that the decline to 14% overall smoking in the United States represents 1 of the greatest public health achievements on the past century. The report also outlines potential steps to address disparities through the contributions from 150 experts in academia, education, and medicine to the 700-page document.