{"title":"Knowledge, attitudes and practices in HIV-related chronic inflammation and cardiovascular risk in Spain","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.eimc.2023.07.005","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>People with HIV (PWH) in suppressive antiretroviral treatment suffer from chronic inflammation-related comorbidities, mainly cardiovascular diseases. However, given the lack of specific evidence about inflammation in PWH, clinical guidelines do not provide recommendations for the management of this issue. To date, physician awareness of inflammation in PWH remains unclear. We analyzed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to inflammation, particularly in the clinical management of PWH, of infectious disease specialists (IDS)/internists compared to other specialists treating inflammation directly (rheumatologists) or its cardiovascular consequences (cardiologists).</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A committee of IDS/internists treating PWH, cardiologists, and rheumatologists designed the KAP questionnaire. The survey was completed by 405 participants (135 physicians per specialty) stratified by Spanish geography, hospital size, and number of PWH under care (IDS/internists only).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>IDS/internists treating PWH scored higher than cardiologists and rheumatologists on knowledge of inflammation (5.5<!--> <!-->±<!--> <!-->1.4 out of 8 points vs. 5.2<!--> <!-->±<!--> <!-->1.3 and 4.6<!--> <!-->±<!--> <!-->1.4 points, respectively; <em>p</em> <!--><<!--> <!-->0.05). Nevertheless, rheumatologists showed the most proactive attitude toward inflammation (i.e., biomarkers monitoring, anti-inflammatory drug prescription and cardiologist referral), followed by cardiologists and IDS/internists (13<!--> <!-->±<!--> <!-->3 of a total of 16 points vs. 11<!--> <!-->±<!--> <!-->3 and 10<!--> <!-->±<!--> <!-->3.3 points, respectively; <em>p</em> <!--><<!--> <!-->0.05), irrespective of hospital size and years of experience. Most IDS/internists (59%) include inflammation in their therapeutic recommendations. However, in IDS/internists treating PWH, we observed a negative correlation between years of experience and concern about the clinical consequences of inflammation.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Our findings show that, compared to other specialists, infectious disease specialists/internists have high knowledge about inflammation in HIV infection, but, in the absence of scientific evidence to base their decisions on inflammatory markers, the therapeutic implications are scarce. The results support the need for more evidence on the monitoring and treatment of inflammation in PWH.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11608,"journal":{"name":"Enfermedades infecciosas y microbiologia clinica","volume":"42 9","pages":"Pages 484-491"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Enfermedades infecciosas y microbiologia clinica","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0213005X23001891","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"INFECTIOUS DISEASES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
People with HIV (PWH) in suppressive antiretroviral treatment suffer from chronic inflammation-related comorbidities, mainly cardiovascular diseases. However, given the lack of specific evidence about inflammation in PWH, clinical guidelines do not provide recommendations for the management of this issue. To date, physician awareness of inflammation in PWH remains unclear. We analyzed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to inflammation, particularly in the clinical management of PWH, of infectious disease specialists (IDS)/internists compared to other specialists treating inflammation directly (rheumatologists) or its cardiovascular consequences (cardiologists).
Methods
A committee of IDS/internists treating PWH, cardiologists, and rheumatologists designed the KAP questionnaire. The survey was completed by 405 participants (135 physicians per specialty) stratified by Spanish geography, hospital size, and number of PWH under care (IDS/internists only).
Results
IDS/internists treating PWH scored higher than cardiologists and rheumatologists on knowledge of inflammation (5.5 ± 1.4 out of 8 points vs. 5.2 ± 1.3 and 4.6 ± 1.4 points, respectively; p < 0.05). Nevertheless, rheumatologists showed the most proactive attitude toward inflammation (i.e., biomarkers monitoring, anti-inflammatory drug prescription and cardiologist referral), followed by cardiologists and IDS/internists (13 ± 3 of a total of 16 points vs. 11 ± 3 and 10 ± 3.3 points, respectively; p < 0.05), irrespective of hospital size and years of experience. Most IDS/internists (59%) include inflammation in their therapeutic recommendations. However, in IDS/internists treating PWH, we observed a negative correlation between years of experience and concern about the clinical consequences of inflammation.
Conclusion
Our findings show that, compared to other specialists, infectious disease specialists/internists have high knowledge about inflammation in HIV infection, but, in the absence of scientific evidence to base their decisions on inflammatory markers, the therapeutic implications are scarce. The results support the need for more evidence on the monitoring and treatment of inflammation in PWH.
期刊介绍:
Hoy está universalmente reconocida la renovada y creciente importancia de la patología infecciosa: aparición de nuevos agentes patógenos, de cepas resistentes, de procesos con expresión clínica hasta ahora desconocida, de cuadros de una gran complejidad. Paralelamente, la Microbiología y la Infectología Clínicas han experimentado un gran desarrollo como respuesta al reto planteado por la actual patología infecciosa. Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica es la Publicación Oficial de la Sociedad Española SEIMC. Cumple con la garantía científica de esta Sociedad, la doble función de difundir trabajos de investigación, tanto clínicos como microbiológicos, referidos a la patología infecciosa, y contribuye a la formación continuada de los interesados en aquella patología mediante artículos orientados a ese fin y elaborados por autores de la mayor calificación invitados por la revista.