Category Archives: Treatment
Interventions to reduce loss to follow-up during all stages of the HIV care continuum in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review
The continuum of care for successful HIV treatment includes HIV testing, linkage, engagement in care, and retention on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Loss to follow-up (LTFU) is a significant disruption to...
Probiotics in human immunodeficiency virus infection: A systematic review and evidence synthesis of benefits and risks
People living with human immunodeficiency virus frequently use dietary supplements, including probiotics, but concern exists about ingesting live organisms. We performed a systematic review of the benefits of probiotics and...
Therapy-emergent drug resistance to integrase strand transfer inhibitors in HIV-1 patients: A subgroup meta-analysis of clinical trials
BACKGROUND: Integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) are a novel class of anti-HIV agents that show high activity in inhibiting HIV-1 replication. Currently, licensed INSTIs include raltegravir (RAL), elvitegravir (EVG) and...
Mortality in the first 3 months on antiretroviral therapy among HIV-positive adults in low- and middle-income countries: A meta-analysis
Previous meta-analyses reported mortality estimates of 12-month post-antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation; however, 40%-60% of deaths occur in the first 3 months on ART, a more sensitive measure of averted deaths...
The efficacy and safety of tenofovir alafenamide versus tenofovir disoproxil fumarate in antiretroviral regimens for HIV-1 therapy: Meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: To date, a definite conclusion about efficiency and safety of tenofovir alafenamide for patients with HIV-1 is not available. The aim of the study was to investigate the efficacy...
Interventions to improve the rate or timing of initiation of antiretroviral therapy for HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: Meta-analyses of effectiveness
INTRODUCTION: As global policy evolves toward initiating lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) regardless of CD4 count, initiating individuals newly diagnosed with HIV on ART as efficiently as possible will become increasingly...
Visual analogue scale (VAS) measurement of antiretroviral adherence in people living with HIV (PLWH): A meta-analysis
Effective treatment of HIV hinges upon maintaining adequate antiretroviral therapy adherence. Accurate, cost-effective measurement of medication adherence is needed to best respond to the HIV pandemic. The visual analogue scale...
The effectiveness of mobile phone text messaging in improving medication adherence for patients with chronic diseases: A systematic review
CONTEXT: Medication non-adherence is a commonly observed problem in the self-administration of treatment, regardless of the disease type. Text messaging reminders, as electronic reminders, provide an opportunity to improve medication...
Disparities in the magnitude of human immunodeficiency virus-related opportunistic infections between high and low/middle-income countries: Is highly active antiretroviral therapy changing the trend?
Opportunistic infections (OIs) cause significant morbidity/mortality in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals globally. Disparities between high-income countries (HICs) and low/middle-income countries (LMICs) in the magnitude of HIV-related OIs in pre-highly...
Transgender women, hormonal therapy and HIV treatment: A comprehensive review of the literature and recommendations for best practices
INTRODUCTION: Studies have shown that transgender women (TGW) are disproportionately affected by HIV, with an estimated HIV prevalence of 19.1% among TGW worldwide. After receiving a diagnosis, HIV-positive TGW have...
