Category Archives: Treatment
Cost-effectiveness of routine viral load monitoring in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review
INTRODUCTION: Routine viral load monitoring for HIV-1 management of persons on antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to identify treatment failure. However, viral load...
HIV-positive women have higher risk of HPV infection, precancerous lesions, and cervical cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis
OBJECTIVES: HIV-positive women have higher human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence and cervical cancer (CC) incidence than HIV-negative women, partly due to HIV’s modifying effect on HPV pathogenesis. We synthesized the literature...
Reduced bone mineral density in human immunodeficiency virus-infected individuals: A meta-analysis of its prevalence and risk factors
A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of osteopenia/osteoporosis in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals. The prevalence of osteopenia/osteoporosis in HIV-infected and antiretroviral therapy (ART)-treated individuals was significantly higher...
Efficacy and safety of Sofosbuvir-containing regimens in patients co-infected with chronic hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus: A meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: The treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in HCV/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) co-infected patients remains complex. This present meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of Sofosbuvir (SOF) for treatment...
Public health approach to prevent cervical cancer in HIV-infected women in Kenya: Issues to consider in the design of prevention programs
Women living with HIV in Africa are at increased risk to be co-infected with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), persistent high risk (HR) HPV infection and bacterial vaginosis (BV), which compounds...
Highly active antiretroviral therapy for critically ill HIV patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis
INTRODUCTION: It is unclear whether the treatment of an HIV infection with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) affects intensive care unit (ICU) outcomes. In this paper, we report the results...
An exploration of group-based HIV/AIDS treatment and care models in Sub-Saharan Africa using a realist evaluation (Intervention-Context-Actor-Mechanism-Outcome) heuristic tool: A systematic review
INTRODUCTION: It is increasingly acknowledged that differentiated care models hold potential to manage large volumes of patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Various group-based models of ART service delivery aimed at...
Behavioral interventions targeting alcohol use among people living with HIV/AIDS: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Alcohol use is often reported among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and is associated with increased sexual risk and poor medication adherence. This meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy of behavioral interventions...
Systematic review and meta-analysis of secondary prophylaxis for prevention of HIV-related toxoplasmic encephalitis relapse using trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole
A recent systematic literature and meta-analysis reported relative efficacy of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) for the treatment of toxoplasmic encephalitis (TE) in HIV-infected adults. Here, we estimated relapse rates during secondary prophylaxis...
Impact of SMS/GPRS printers in reducing time to early infant diagnosis compared to routine result reporting: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Despite significant gains made towards improving access, early infant diagnosis (EID) testing programs suffer from long test turnaround times that result in substantial loss to follow-up and mortality associated...
Renal manifestations of HIV during the antiretroviral era in South Africa: A systematic scoping review
BACKGROUND: It is estimated that 650,000 patients may develop human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related renal disease in South Africa. South Africa has recently adopted WHO policy, stipulating that all HIV-infected patients...
