Category Archives: Treatment
Electronic medication monitoring-informed counseling to improve adherence to combination anti-retroviral therapy and virologic treatment outcomes: A meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Adherence to combination anti-retroviral therapy for HIV infection is a primary determinant of treatment success, but is often suboptimal. Previous studies have suggested that electronic medication monitoring-informed counseling is...
Pharmaceutical interventions in antiretroviral therapy: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials
WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: High levels of adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) are needed to achieve the desired results. Because pharmaceutical care might contribute to improved adherence to treatment,...
A systematic review of the inclusion (or exclusion) of women in HIV research: From clinical studies of antiretrovirals and vaccines to cure strategies
INTRODUCTION: The effect of clinical interventions can differ due to sex/gender. Studies have shown that women are often underrepresented in medical research. The aim of this systematic literature review was...
Oral manifestations of HIV/AIDS in Asia: Systematic review and future research guidelines
OBJECTIVES: The authors have conducted a systematic review of oral manifestations of HIV from studies conducted in Asia to establish the characteristics and prevalence of individual oral manifestations in Asia,...
Initial highly-active antiretroviral therapy with a protease inhibitor versus a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor: Discrepancies between direct and indirect meta-analyses
BACKGROUND: The optimum treatment choice between initial highly-active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) with a protease inhibitor (PI) versus a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) is uncertain. An indirect analysis reported that...
A comparative systematic review of the optimal CD4 cell count threshold for HIV treatment initiation
HIV infection is no longer characterized by high morbidity, rapid progression to AIDS, and death as when the infection was first identified. While anti-retroviral drugs have improved the outcome of...
A systematic review of recent smartphone, Internet and Web 2.0 interventions to address the HIV continuum of care
eHealth, mHealth and “Web 2.0” social media strategies can effectively reach and engage key populations in HIV prevention across the testing, treatment, and care continuum. To assess how these tools...
Geographic and temporal trends in the molecular epidemiology and genetic mechanisms of transmitted HIV-1 drug resistance: An individual-patient- and sequence-level meta-analysis.
BACKGROUND: Regional and subtype-specific mutational patterns of HIV-1 transmitted drug resistance (TDR) are essential for informing first-line antiretroviral (ARV) therapy guidelines and designing diagnostic assays for use in regions where...
CD4 enumeration technologies: A systematic review of test performance for determining eligibility for antiretroviral therapy
BACKGROUND: Measurement of CD4+ T-lymphocytes (CD4) is a crucial parameter in the management of HIV patients, particularly in determining eligibility to initiate antiretroviral treatment (ART). A number of technologies exist...
Discontinuing pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia prophylaxis in HIV-infected patients with a CD4 cell count <200 cells/mm3
OBJECTIVE: To review the evidence for discontinuing primary and secondary Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) prophylaxis in HIV-infected patients with a CD4 count <200 cells/mm3. DATA SOURCES: We conducted a literature...
The effect of sexually transmitted co-infections on HIV viral load amongst individuals on antiretroviral therapy: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) markedly reduces HIV transmission, and testing and treatment programs have been advocated as a method for decreasing transmission at the population level. Little is known, however,...
