Patients with acute human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are the critical source of infection due to high viral load and strong transmission ability. The vast majority of patients in the acute infection stage have no or only mild clinical symptoms, and their screening and diagnosis often rely on laboratory tests. However, there are still some difficulties in early screening and detection for HIV infection due to the detection window period. In recent years, laboratory testing for acute HIV infection has made great progress. This article reviews the progress in laboratory testing of acute HIV infection, in order to provide a reference for follow-up related research.
Neurosyphilis is a group of clinical syndromes in which Treponema pallidum invades the nervous system and causes damage to the meninges, blood vessels, brain parenchyma or spinal cord. At present, there is no highly specific and sensitive method for the diagnosis of neurosyphilis, and its diagnosis mainly depends on clinical manifestations, abnormal cerebrospinal fluid and the comprehensive judgment of clinicians. Current studies show that some cytokines and chemokines are promising for laboratory detection of neurosyphilis. This article reviews the research progress of neurosyphilis from the aspects of traditional laboratory testing, polymerase chain reaction testing, cytokine and chemokine testing, and existing diagnostic criteria for neurosyphilis, in order to provide a reference for clinical testing and follow-up research.
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 p24 antigen is one of the earliest proteins appearing after HIV infection. It can be used as a diagnostic marker to shorten the detection “window period” to about 14 days. It is of vital importance in the process of early diagnosis and antiviral therapy monitoring. This review briefly describes the basic structure and clinical significance of detection of HIV-1 p24 antigen, focusing on the current domestic and foreign researches on the biosensors of HIV-1 p24 antigen based on new nanomaterials, in order to provide a reference for developing novel detection technology.
Objective To analyze the clinical epidemiological characteristics and trends of newly reported human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients in Panzhihua Central Hospital, and provide a scientific basis for general hospitals to formulate precise prevention and control measures. Methods The information such as gender, age, ethnicity, and transmission route of the newly reported HIV/AIDS patients in Panzhihua Central Hospital from 2010 to 2019 was retrospectively analyzed. Results A total of 551545 patients were screened for HIV in Panzhihua Central Hospital between 2010 and 2019, among them, 1091 patients were confirmed as HIV infection finally, with a confirmed positive rate of 0.20%. The number of confirmed cases and the positive rate continued to increase from 2010 to 2017, and obviously declined after 2018. The male to female ratio of newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS patients was 2.86∶1, and the 31-45 years old middle-aged and young adults were the majority (31.16%). The majority of HIV/AIDS patients were identified as married (58.02%), primary school education (40.70%), farmers (46.38%), and Han nationality (79.84%). Yi nationality also had a high proportion (18.52%) with an increasing trend year by year (χ2trend=8.131, P=0.004). Yi nationality patients were mainly from Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture (58.42%). A high proportion of 50.32% of patients came from other cities, among them, the proportion of patients from Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture increased over time (χ2trend=13.608, P<0.001). The transmission routes were mainly through heterosexual sex (90.93%), with an upward tendency of proportion (χ2trend=22.137, P<0.001), and transmission through drug abuse was following (4.49%), with an downward tendency of the proportion (χ2trend=11.758, P=0.001). Significant differences in transmission routes were observed between males and females (P=0.020), and between Han nationality and Yi nationality (P<0.001). Conclusion The newly repored HIV/AIDS patients in Panzhihua Central Hospital have a high proportion of minority nationality, and heterosexual transmission is the main transmission route.