Assessment of iodine deficiency and monitoring of iodine supplementation programs demands rapid, simple and cost-effective methods for the determination of urinary iodide concentrations. We propose a rapid test based on the iodide-catalyzed oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine by peracetic acid/H2O2 to yield colored products. The color of the chemical reaction is compared with color categories of a pictogram corresponding to three ranges (<10, 10-30, and >>30 microg/100 mL) of iodide concentrations. The test is very easy to perform and does not require any instrumentation or apparatus. Sample preparation is simple and consists in the removal of interfering substances by disposable columns, 65 x 10.5 mm, packed with specifically prepared activated charcoal. For comparison with a reference method for measuring urinary iodide (HPLC), we determined the iodide concentrations of 370 random (untimed) urine samples from consecutive patients by both HPLC and the rapid test. The results obtained by both methods are in close agreement with respect to classification of the samples according to the above three ranges, with a maximum difference of <5% for each range. This rapid test is therefore very well suited to epidemiological surveys of iodine deficiency especially in developing countries.

Assessment of iodine deficiency and monitoring of iodine supplementation programs demand rapid, simple, and cost-effective methods for the determination of urinary iodide concentrations. We propose a semiquantitative rapid test, based on the iodide-catalyzed oxidation of 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine by peracetic acid/H2O2, to yield colored products. The color of the chemical reaction is compared with color categories of a pictogram corresponding to three ranges: <100, 100-300, and >300 microg/L (<0.79, 0.79-2.36, and >2.36 micromol/L) of iodide concentrations. The test is very easy to perform and does not require any instrumentation or apparatus. Sample preparation is simple and consists of the removal of interfering substances by disposable columns, 65 x 10.5 mm, packed with purified activated charcoal. For comparison with a reference method for measuring urinary iodide, by high-performance liquid chromatography, we determined the iodide concentrations of 370 random (untimed) urine samples from consecutive patients by both high-performance liquid chromatography and the rapid test. The results obtained by both methods are in close agreement, with respect to classification of the samples according to the above three ranges, with a maximum difference of less than 5% for each range. Median (y) values of a given distribution of urinary iodide concentrations can be calculated from the percent (x) of samples below 100 microg/L (0.79 micromol/L) using the regression equation: y = 179.78 - 1.60x. This rapid test, therefore, is suited to epidemiological surveys of iodine deficiency, especially in developing countries.

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Objective: Over 480 000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in the Czech Republic since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including over 500 people with HIV. This study describes the demographics, characteristics, and management of Ukrainian refugees with HIV in the Czech Republic. Design: Retrospective, observational, non-interventional study. Methods: Ukrainian nationals registering at HIV centers in the Czech Republic with war refugee status were included. Data were collected from medical records between 1 March and 31 July 2022. The study was registered with the Czech State Institute for Drug Control, ID number 2301200000. Results: 482 patients were included in the study. Most patients were female (69.5%; n = 335/482) with well-controlled HIV. The median [interquartile range] CD4+ cell count was 597 [397] cells/mm3 of blood, and 79.3% (n = 361/455) of patients had HIV RNA <40 copies/ml. Coinfections of hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus, and/or tuberculosis were reported for 17.4% (n = 78/449), 9% (n = 40/446) and 1.3% (n = 6/446) of patients, respectively. In Ukraine, 85.7% (n = 384/448) of patients had been receiving an integrase strand transfer inhibitor-based regimen and most (69.7%; n = 310/445) did not switch therapy upon arrival in the Czech Republic. Conclusion: Migration from Ukraine is changing the characteristics of HIV epidemiology in the Czech Republic. Ukrainian refugees with HIV have been provided with a high standard of medical care in the Czech Republic. Improved coordination between medical services within the Czech Republic and between countries in the European Union is necessary to optimize patient care.