Category Archives: Epidemiology
Inferring the multiplicity of founder variants initiating HIV-1 infection: A systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis
Background: HIV-1 infections initiated by multiple founder variants are characterised by a higher viral load and a worse clinical prognosis than those initiated with single founder variants, yet little is known...
Chinese herbal medicine for drug-induced liver injury in patients with HIV/AIDS: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials
BACKGROUND: To explore the effectiveness and safety of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) for drug-induced liver injury (DILI) in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). METHODS: A systematic...
Chemsex and chemsex associated substance use among men who have sex with men in Asia: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: The prevalence of chemsex has been reported by multiple systematic reviews among men who have sex with men (MSM) focussing predominantly on the Global North. An Asian perspective with...
Anti-cytomegalovirus preemptive therapy to prevent cytomegalovirus disease in HIV-infected patients: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: HIV patients are at higher risk of contracting and developing into an asymptomatic form of CMV infection. This review aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of preemptive therapy...
Accuracy of self-diagnosis in conditions commonly managed in primary care: Diagnostic accuracy systematic review and meta-analysis
OBJECTIVES: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of self-diagnosis compared with a clinical diagnosis for common conditions in primary care. DESIGN: Systematic review. DATA SOURCES: Medline, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, Cochrane Database...
The impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on service delivery and treatment outcomes in people living with HIV: A systematic review
INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 epidemic and various control and mitigation measures to combat the widespread outbreak of the disease may affect other parts of health care systems. There is a concern...
Associations between the prevalence of chronic hepatitis B among people who inject drugs and country-level characteristics: An ecological analysis
Introduction: Globally, hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a leading cause of liver disease. People who inject drugs (PWID) are at greater risk than the general population of contracting HBV. This risk...
Prevalence of sexualized drug use and risk of HIV among sexually active MSM in East and South Asian countries: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Introduction: Sexualized drug use (SDU), the use of psychoactive drugs in the context of sexual intercourse, has been identified as a risk factor for HIV among men who have sex with...
Web-based service provision of HIV, viral hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infection prevention, testing, linkage, and treatment for key populations: Systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Despite the growth of web-based interventions for HIV, viral hepatitis (VH), and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) for key populations, the evidence for the effectiveness of these interventions has not...
The prevalence of HIV-infected patients with virological suppression but a CD4+ T-cell count of ≤ 200 cells/mm3 after highly active antiretroviral therapy initiation: A meta-analysis
Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) strongly inhibits HIV replication. However, many patients show suboptimal immune recovery (SIR), as defined by virological suppression (i.e. low viral load) with a CD4+ T-cell count...
Perinatal outcomes associated with combination antiretroviral therapy compared with monotherapy
Objectives: Increasing numbers of women living with HIV (WLHIV) worldwide receive combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) during pregnancy. We aimed to assess the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in pregnant WLHIV receiving...
Toxoplasma gondii infection in immunocompromised patients in Iran (2013–2022): A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Toxoplasma gondii infection (toxoplasmosis) has the potential to cause a serious disease in immunocompromised patients and can be fatal in this population. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis...
