In 1998, a series of regional cluster surveys (the ICONA Study) was conducted simultaneously in 19 out of the 20 regions in Italy to estimate the mandatory immunization coverage of children aged 12-24 months with oral poliovirus (OPV), diphtheria-tetanus (DT) and viral hepatitis B (HBV) vaccines, as well as optional immunization coverage with pertussis, measles and Haemophilus influenzae b (Hib...

Dynamics of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) tropism after antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation and their association with disease progression are poorly investigated.This was a cohort study on subjects from the ICONA cohort receiving ART with persistently detectable (PD) or persistently undetectable (PU) viral load (VL) and with stored plasma or peripheral blood mononuclear cell ...

OBJECTIVES Tropism evolution of HIV-1 quasispecies was analysed by ultra-deep pyrosequencing (UDPS) in patients on first-line combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) always suppressed or experiencing virological failure episodes. METHODS Among ICONA patients, two groups of 20 patients on cART for ≥5 years, matched for baseline viraemia and therapy duration, were analysed [Group I, patients ...

OBJECTIVES To identify variables predictive of nonadherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and to assess whether self-reported symptoms or medication side effects are related to adherence. DESIGN Cross-sectional multicenter study Adherence Italian Cohort Naive Antiretrovirals [AdICONA] within the Italian Cohort Naive Antiretrovirals (ICONA). METHODS Participants receiving H...

BACKGROUND Real-life data on access and response to direct antiviral agents (DAA) in HIV-HCV coinfected individuals are lacking. METHODS HCV viremic, HIV-positive patients from Icona and Hepaicona cohorts naïve to DAA by January 2013 were included. Access and predictors of starting DAA were evaluated. Switches of antiretroviral drugs at starting DAA were described. We calculated sustained vir...