Category Archives: Treatment
Evidence on the cost-effectiveness of lifelong antiretroviral therapy for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV: Implications for resource-limited countries in sub-Saharan Africa
INTRODUCTION: The 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) consolidated guideline recommends lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all HIV-infected pregnant and breastfeeding women for preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT). Ambiguity remains about...
Where is the evidence? The use of routinely-collected patient data to retain adults on antiretroviral treatment in low and middle income countries-a state of the evidence review
Retention rates in antiretroviral treatment (ART) in low- and middle-income countries are suboptimal for meeting global “90-90-90” treatment targets. Interventions using routinely collected patient data to follow up with ART...
Effect of frequency of clinic visits and medication pick-up on antiretroviral treatment outcomes: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis
INTRODUCTION: Expanding and sustaining antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage may require simplified HIV service delivery strategies that concomitantly reduce the burden of care on the health system and patients while ensuring...
mHealth application areas and technology combinations*. A comparison of literature from high and low/middle income countries
BACKGROUND: With the continuous and enormous spread of mobile technologies, mHealth has evolved as a new subfield of eHealth. While eHealth is broadly focused on information and communication technologies, mHealth...
Systematic review of statistically-derived models of immunological response in HIV-infected adults on antiretroviral therapy in Sub-Saharan Africa
INTRODUCTION: In Sub-Saharan African (SSA) resource limited settings, Cluster of Differentiation 4 (CD4) counts continue to be used for clinical decision making in antiretroviral therapy (ART). Here, HIV-infected people often...
Antiretroviral therapy in HIV infected children with tuberculosis: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis is the major cause of mortality in HIV-infected children globally. Current guidelines about the management of antiretroviral therapy in children with tuberculosis are based on a limited number...
Antiretroviral therapy for pregnant women living with HIV or hepatitis B: A systematic review and meta-analysis
OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of various antiretroviral/antiviral regimens in pregnant women living with HIV or hepatitis B virus (HBV). DESIGN: We performed random effects meta-analysis for HIV-related outcomes and...
Ritonavir-boosted darunavir plus two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors versus other regimens for initial antiretroviral therapy for people with HIV infection: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: Darunavir is a second-generation protease-inhibitor used with ritonavir (DRV/r) and two nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors as an option in first-line antiretroviral treatment (ART). METHODS: We systematically reviewed randomized controlled trials...
Shifting tasks from pharmacy to non-pharmacy personnel for providing antiretroviral therapy to people living with HIV: A systematic review and meta-analysis
OBJECTIVES: Lay people or non-pharmacy health workers with training could dispense antiretroviral therapy (ART) in resource-constrained countries, freeing up time for pharmacists to focus on more technical tasks. We assessed...
Global, regional, and country-level coverage of interventions to prevent and manage HIV and hepatitis C among people who inject drugs: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: People who inject drugs (PWID) are a key population affected by the global HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemics. HIV and HCV prevention interventions for PWID include needle...
Choice of initial antiretroviral drugs and treatment outcomes among HIV-infected patients in sub-Saharan Africa: Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies
BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART) depends on the choice of regimens during initiation. Most evidences from developed countries indicated that there is difference between efavirenz (EFV) and nevirapine...
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...
