Voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) service plays an essential part in the prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of participants and analyze the major factors of HIV infection in VCT in Nantong, China. This study was conducted between January 2010 and December 2015, based on the responses to questionnaires and blood test results retrieved from the Chinese National HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Control Information System (CNHCCIS). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors related to HIV infection. Differences between first-time testers and repeat testers were assessed using the chi-squared or Fisher test. Over six years, a total of 11,560 VCT participants were included, and 420 cases were confirmed to be HIV-positive. Overall, the annual number of participants was relatively stable with a mean of 1927, while there was a rapid increase in the HIV detection rate (from 1.03% in 2010 to 7.52% in 2015). In multivariate analysis, referral counseling and having a HIV-positive spouse/fixed sex partners were found to be significantly associated with HIV infection among all participants, while being unmarried or divorced, having commercial heterosexual behaviors, and male-male sexual behaviors are additional HIV-related factors for males. Compared to first-time testers, repeat testers were more willing to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors and had higher HIV detection rates ( P < 0.001 ). In conclusion, the HIV epidemic in Nantong is still not controlled. Therefore, in the future, it is critical to expand VCT services to increase the detection rate of HIV, which can prevent the transmission of HIV effectively.

To investigate the factors associated with sexually transmitted infection and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (STI-HIV) co-infection among men who have sex with men (MSM). A total of 357 HIV-infected participants (84 STI-HIV co-infection and 273 HIV infections only) were recruited from Jiangsu, China. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the related factors associated with STI-HIV co-infection. Marginal structural models were adopted to estimate the effect of transmission drug resistance (TDR) on STI-HIV co-infection. For all participants, logistic regression analyses revealed that those who diagnosed with HIV-1 for longer duration (≥1.8 years) were significantly associated with reduced STI-HIV co-infection risk (OR = 0.55, 95%CI: 0.32–0.96, P = 0.036). In further stratification analysis by antiretroviral therapy (ART), individuals with longer duration showed consistent significant associations with STI-HIV co-infection risk (OR = 0.46, 95%CI: 0.26–0.83, P = 0.010) among MSM with ART-naïve status. In addition, significant reduced risk for STI-HIV co-infection (OR = 0.98, 95%CI: 0.96–0.99, P = 0.010) were observed in younger (under the average age of 31.03) MSM of the same group. Interestingly, we also found TDR was significantly associated with an increased risk of STI-HIV co-infection risk (OR = 3.84, 95%CI: 1.05–14.03, P = 0.042) in ART-naïve group. Our study highlights a pattern of STI-HIV co-infection among MSM in China and indicates that targeted interventions aimed at encouraging TDR monitoring in MSM with early HIV infection are warranted.

Background To estimate the association between the administration of corticosteroids and all-cause mortality of hospitalized patients with severe/critical Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods We conducted this study at six tertiary hospitals in the area of Chongqing, China. Clinical records from all consecutive adult subjects admitted with SARS-CoV-2 infection from 1 November 2022 to 20 January 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. In-hospital and 28-day mortality were analyzed before and after propensity score matching (PSM). Logistic regression model and cox regression model was used to further examine the relationship between corticosteroid treatment and the risk of mortality. Results A total of 406 severe and critically ill COVID-19 patients were included in this study. They were divided into the corticosteroids group (231, 56.9%) and non-corticosteroids group (175, 43.1%) according to corticosteroids use (0.5-1mg/kg/d methylprednisolone or any corticosteroid at equivalent dose, no more than 10 days). Corticosteroid treatment did not reduce in-hospital mortality in overall cohorts (36.4% vs.28.0%) and matched cohorts (32.5% vs.34.5%). Univariate analysis showed that the 28-day mortality in the corticosteroids group was significantly higher than that in the non-corticosteroids group [hazard ratio (HR), 0.706; 95% CI, 0.507–0.983; p = 0.039] in the overall population. When the multivariate analysis was further used to control confounders, the results showed that corticosteroids were not associated with improved 28-day mortality (HR, 1.121; 95% CI, 0.641–1.959; p = 0.689). With PSM, similar results were obtained with univariate and multivariate analysis. Conclusions Corticosteroids in hospitalized patients with severe/critical COVID-19 did not reduce mortality in the overall population.