Author Index

Author Index

Condensed Contents

DOES PREOPERATIVE NON-ENHANCED COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY IMPROVE PATIENT'S SELECTION FOR SHOCK WAVE LITHOTRIPSY FOR URINARY CALCULI ?

Azathioprine or Methotrexate Maintenance for ANCA-Associated Vasculitis

To the Editor: In their prospective, open-label trial, Pagnoux et al. (Dec. 25 issue)1 compared azathioprine (at a dose of 2 mg per kilogram of body weight per day) with methotrexate (at a dose of 0.3 μg per kilogram per week, progressively increased to 25 mg per week) as maintenance therapy for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)–associated vasculitides (Wegener’s granulomatosis and microscopic polyangiitis). They provide evidence-based data about both the efficacy and the safety profile of these drugs. Like the authors, we were surprised by the tendency toward a better safety profile for azathioprine (a trend that did not support their initial hypothesis) in spite of concomitant treatment in this group with trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole, which was associated with similar adverse events. Since methotrexate-related adverse events are increased if renal function is impaired,2 we wish that renal function had been evaluated more precisely in both groups by calculation of the estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) instead of the creatinine level, especially since there was a significant sex-ratio imbalance between the two groups. Creatinine levels were similar between the groups, but the estimated GFR may have been lower in the methotrexate group (in which 60% of the patients were women). Therefore, we cannot rule out the possibility that more impaired renal function contributed to the lack of benefit and to the absence of a decrease in toxic effects in the methotrexate group as compared with the azathioprine group.

Effect of interferon gamma-1b on survival in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (INSPIRE): a multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a fatal disease for which no effective treatment exists. We assessed whether treatment with interferon gamma-1b improved survival compared with placebo in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and mild-to-moderate impairment of pulmonary function.

Timing of initiation of antiretroviral therapy in AIDS-free HIV-1-infected patients: a collaborative analysis of 18 HIV cohort studies

The CD4 cell count at which combination antiretroviral therapy should be started is a central, unresolved issue in the care of HIV-1-infected patients. In the absence of randomised trials, we examined this question in prospective cohort studies.

85 ANTIVIRAL ACTIVITY AND SAFETY OF ITMN-191 IN COMBINATION WITH PEGINTERFERON ALFA-2A AND RIBAVIRIN IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEPATITIS C VIRUS (HCV)

123 EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF AN INTENSIFIED REGIMEN OF PEGYLATED INTERFERON ALFA-2A PLUS RIBAVIRIN IN HCV GENOTYPE 1 NON-RESPONDERS: AN INTERIM ANALYSIS OF THE SYREN TRIAL

214 PREGNANCY IN WOMEN WITH PORTAL VEIN CAVERNOMA (PVC): MATERNAL AND FOETAL MANAGEMENT AND OUTCOME