Category Archives: Engagement and Care Cascade
Adherence to antiretroviral therapy in adolescents living with HIV: Systematic review and meta-analysis
OBJECTIVE: Adolescent and young adult (AYA) populations (12-24 years) represent over 40% of new HIV infections globally. Adolescence is sometimes characterized by high-risk sexual behaviour and a lack of engagement...
Treatment of acute hepatitis C infection with pegylated interferon and ribavirin in patients coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Of the 35 million human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients worldwide, 10-40% are coinfected with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV). Compared to HCV-monoinfected patients, those coinfected experience decreased spontaneous HCV...
Optimal timing of antiretroviral therapy initiation for HIV-infected adults with newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) during tuberculosis (TB) treatment remains challenging. PURPOSE: To assess evidence from randomized, controlled trials of the timing of ART initiation in HIV-infected adults with...
Leishmaniasis as a manifestation of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) in HIV-infected patients: A literature review
INTRODUCTION: After the onset of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), some HIV-infected patients present a severe inflammation in response to a latent or a previously treated opportunistic pathogen termed immune...
Viral suppression in adolescents on antiretroviral treatment: Review of the literature and critical appraisal of methodological challenges
OBJECTIVE: Medication adherence is often sub-optimal for adolescents with HIV, and establishing correct weight-based antiretroviral therapy dosing is difficult, contributing to virological failure. This review aimed to determine the proportion...
The effect of tuberculosis treatment on virologic and CD4+ cell count response to combination antiretroviral therapy: A systematic review
OBJECTIVES: To determine the impact of tuberculosis (TB) treatment at the time of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) initiation on virologic and CD4 cell count response to cART. METHODS:: Systematic review...
Self-transfer and mortality amongst adults lost to follow-up in ART programmes in low and middle-income countries: Systematic review and meta-analysis
OBJECTIVE: To ascertain estimates of adult patients, recorded as lost to follow-up (LTFU) within antiretroviral treatment (ART) programmes, who have self-transferred care, died or truly stopped ART in low- and...
Efficacy of initial antiretroviral therapy for HIV-1 infection in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 114 studies with up to 144 weeks’ follow-up
BACKGROUND: A comprehensive assessment of initial HIV-1 treatment success may inform study design and treatment guidelines. METHODS: Group-based, systematic review and meta-analysis of initial antiretroviral therapy studies, in adults, of...
Efficacy and biological safety of lopinavir/ritonavir based anti-retroviral therapy in HIV-1-infected patients: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) is the first ritonavir-boosted protease-inhibitor used in second-line anti-retroviral treatment (ART) in resource-limited regions. To evaluate the efficacy and safety outcomes of LPV/r in treatment-naive and -experienced HIV-infected...
