Category Archives: Treatment
The impact of community mobilisation on HIV prevention in middle and low income countries: A systematic review and critique.
While community mobilisation (CM) is increasingly advocated for HIV prevention, its impact on measurable outcomes has not been established. We performed a systematic review of the impact of CM within...
Highly active antiretroviral therapy and sexual risk behavior: A meta-analytic review
Context: Evidence suggests that since highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) became available, the prevalence of unprotected sex and the incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have increased. Objective: To conduct...
Risks and benefits of lifelong antiretroviral treatment for pregnant and breastfeeding women: A review of the evidence for the Option B+ approach
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Considerable debate has emerged on whether Option B+ (B+), initiation of lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all pregnant and breastfeeding women, is the best approach to achieving...
Development and validation of decision rules to guide frequency of monitoring CD4 cell count in HIV-1 infection before starting antiretroviral therapy
Although CD4 cell count monitoring is used to decide when to start antiretroviral therapy in patients with HIV-1 infection, there are no evidence-based recommendations regarding its optimal frequency. It is...
Improved access to early infant diagnosis is a critical part of a child-centric prevention of mother-to-child transmission agenda
BACKGROUND: Prevention-of-mother-to-child-transmission (PMTCT) programs have made it possible to achieve dramatic reductions in the rate of vertical HIV transmission. However, high attrition, particularly after delivery, has limited the impact of...
Telephone consultation for improving health of people living with or at risk of HIV: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: Low cost, effective interventions are needed to deal with the major global burden of HIV/AIDS. Telephone consultation offers the potential to improve health of people living with HIV/AIDS cost-effectively...
Treatment non-adherence in pediatric long-term medical conditions: Systematic review and synthesis of qualitative studies of caregivers’ views
BACKGROUND: Non-adherence to prescribed treatments is the primary cause of treatment failure in pediatric long-term conditions. Greater understanding of parents and caregivers’ reasons for non-adherence can help to address this...
Antihypertensive drugs in patients treated with antiretrovirals
OBJECTIVE: To review the literature for information regarding pharmacokinetic interactions between antiretrovirals and antihypertensive agents, evaluate the clinical significance of these interactions, and analyze the effect of antihypertensive drugs on...
Lessons learned from family-centred models of treatment for children living with HIV: Current approaches and future directions
BACKGROUND: Despite strong global interest in family-centred HIV care models, no reviews exist that detail the current approaches to family-centred care and their impact on the health of children with...
Systematic review of antiretroviral-associated lipodystrophy: Lipoatrophy, but not central fat gain, is an antiretroviral adverse drug reaction
BACKGROUND: Lipoatrophy and/or central fat gain are observed frequently in patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Both are assumed to be antiretroviral adverse drug reactions. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review...
Effect of hepatitis C virus on immunological and virological responses in HIV-infected patients initiating highly active antiretroviral therapy: A meta-analysis
Co-infection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is rather common. In the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), viral hepatitis could result in adverse outcomes...
