Q&A: Virtual HIV course will cover new research
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The International Antiviral Society-USA will host a 2-day virtual course this month titled, “From CROI to the Clinic,” which will feature updates from CROI and information for HIV clinicians.
The course will run on April 7 and April 14 and will offer information on HIV stigma, the collateral damage of COVID-19 on patient care, barriers to PrEP implementation, and more. Interested participants can preregister here for the $75 course.
We spoke with Infectious Disease News Chief Medical Editor Paul A. Volberding, MD, professor emeritus of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, about what the course will offer clinicians. Volberding is one of 13 course faculty members.
Healio: What areas of HIV will the course cover?
Volberding: We try to cover a broad area. We really want to fit as many topics that are of importance to clinical management as possible. That said, I think it's fair to say that there's a lot of interest right now in long-acting antiretrovirals, both for prevention and treatment. There will be a good deal of discussion about that. There's still a lot of interest in the issue of weight gain, and so that will be covered. Everyone is interested in COVID-19 therapies, so we're going to try to update people on those as well.
Healio: Who can benefit from this session?
Volberding: These sessions are intended primarily for experienced HIV clinicians because we've been doing these for a long time. It's a rather experienced HIV group of clinicians, but I think any interested person could benefit from this course, especially those who are involved in HIV care.
Healio: What new information will clinicians come away with that can help them in daily practice?
Volberding: We'll address how to keep track of the new drugs that are being developed. We're seeing quite a bit of new drugs in development now, especially with the long-acting drugs. How might we bring those into our practices? What would be the indications? What do we know about patient preference? I think those are the important issues.
There's been quite a bit of interest in use of antiretrovirals and pregnancy, so that would be another important area as well.
Healio: Is there a benefit to the meeting being virtual?
Volberding: We'd love to be back in person, but this way we can reach across the entire nation. We already have registrants from a large number of states. This is a way you can bring people together without travel. I think many people find that following a discussion online actually has advantages in terms of being able to follow the presentations. The slides are right in front of, and you are not distracted by being in your conference room. Over the pandemic, we've found that sometimes virtual presentations actually can work better. Although we'd like to get back to being in-person, I think that virtual presentations often work very well.
Healio: As the pandemic continues, what role can clinics like this play?
Volberding: This is a way to, as rapidly as possible, translate new information to a clinical practice sheet. It is that acceleration that is so important.
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IAS-USA. From CROI to the clinic: A special 2-day virtual course. https://www.iasusa.org/events/virtual-hiv-update-2021-new-york/. Accessed April 5, 2021.
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