Category Archives: Prevention, Engagement and Care Cascade
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...
Effect of race and/or ethnicity in use of antiretrovirals and prophylaxis for opportunistic infection: A review of the literature
OBJECTIVE: The authors performed a systematic and critical review of published studies investigating potential associations between race and/or ethnicity and use of HIV-related medications, including antiretroviral medications and medications used...
Nonoxynol-9 for preventing vaginal acquisition of sexually transmitted infections by women from men
BACKGROUND: The incidence and prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STI) and other reproductive tract infections (RTI) is high in much of the developing and parts of the developed worlds. STIs...
What is the potential for bisexual men in China to act as a bridge of HIV transmission to the female population? Behavioural evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Background: HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China has rapidly increased in recent years. It is suggested that MSM could be a potential bridge of...
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...
Nonoccupational postexposure prophylaxis following sexual assault in industrialized low-HIV-prevalence countries: A review
Although available for over a decade, use of nonoccupational postexposure prophylaxis (nPEP) remains controversial in the United States. There are concerns over sexual assault survivors’ adherence, or lack thereof, leading...
A systematic review of health system barriers and enablers for antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-infected pregnant and postpartum women
BACKGROUND: Despite global progress in the fight to reduce maternal mortality, HIV-related maternal deaths remain persistently high, particularly in much of Africa. Lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) appears to be the...
Interventions to prevent HIV/AIDS among adolescents in less developed countries: Are they effective?
The objective of this study was to summarize and critically assess the effects of interventions to prevent HIV/AIDS among adolescents in less developed countries. Reports of studies that evaluated interventions...
Atazanavir: A new protease inhibitor to treat HIV infection
PURPOSE: The pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and clinical trials of and drug interactions and formulary considerations associated with atazanavir, the newest protease inhibitor (PI) to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, are...
Universal voluntary HIV testing in antenatal care settings: A review of the contribution of provider-initiated testing & counselling
Objective To assess the contribution of provider-initiated testing and counselling (PITC) to achieving universal testing of pregnant women and, from available data on components of PITC, assess whether PITC adoption...
HIV and male circumcision – A systematic review with assessment of the quality of studies
This Cochrane systematic review assesses the evidence for an interventional effect of male circumcision in preventing acquisition of HIV-1 and HIV-2 by men through heterosexual intercourse. The review includes a...
Mitochondrial disorders among infants exposed to HIV and antiretroviral therapy
Although antiretroviral therapy (ART) is critical for preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, concern has been raised about the possibility that it may cause mitochondrial dysfunction in infants. There is adequate...
