Category Archives: Treatment
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...
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...
Evaluating the effectiveness of physical exercise interventions in persons living with HIV: Overview of systematic reviews
Physical exercise (PE) has not been well studied in persons living with HIV (PLHIV). We conducted an overview of systematic reviews to assess the effectiveness of PE and to determine...
Zidovudine/lamivudine vs. abacavir/lamivudine vs. tenofovir/emtricitabine in fixed-dose combinations as initial treatment for HIV patients: A systematic review and network meta-analysis
INTRODUCTION: Initial treatment of the HIV is based on the use of three drugs, two of which are nucleoside analog reverse-transcriptase inhibitors. There are three combinations of these drugs which...
