Category Archives: Biomedical interventions
Timing of initiation of antiretroviral therapy and adverse pregnancy outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Although lifelong combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) is recommended for all individuals with HIV, few data exist for pregnancy outcomes associated with ART initiation before conception. We assessed adverse pregnancy...
Brief report: Preventing HIV-1 infection in women using oral preexposure prophylaxis: A meta-analysis of current evidence
The World Health Organization has issued an early release revision to its antiretroviral guidelines in which PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis in the form of daily oral, fixed dose combination tenofovir disoproxil...
Pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention: Safety concerns
Available evidence supports the efficacy of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in decreasing the incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among high-risk individuals, especially when used in combination with other behavioural...
Effectiveness of semen washing to prevent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission and assist pregnancy in HIV-discordant couples: A systematic review and meta-analysis
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of semen washing in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-discordant couples in which the male partner is infected. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis. SETTING: Not applicable. PATIENT(S):...
Suboptimal viral suppression rates among HIV-infected children in low- and middle-income countries: A meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: The 90-90-90 goals aim to achieve viral suppression in 90% of all HIV-infected people on antiretroviral treatment (ART), which is especially challenging in children. Global estimates of viral suppression...
Preventing HIV-1 infection in women using oral pre-exposure prophylaxis: A meta-analysis of current evidence
The World Health Organization has issued an early release revision to its antiretroviral guidelines in which PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis in the form of daily oral, fixed dose combination tenofovir disoproxil...
Effective non-drug interventions for improving outcomes and quality of maternal health care in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: Many interventions have been implemented to improve maternal health outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Currently, however, systematic information on the effectiveness of these interventions remains scarce. We conducted a...
A systematic review of interventions to improve postpartum retention of women in PMTCT and ART care
INTRODUCTION: The World Health Organization recommends lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV. Effective transitioning from maternal and child health to ART services, and...
Safety of oral tenofovir disoproxil fumarate-based pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention
INTRODUCTION: Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF)-based pre-exposure prophylaxis is a novel HIV prevention strategy for individuals at increased sexual risk for HIV infection. For any biomedical prevention intervention, the bar for...
Interventions to strengthen the HIV prevention cascade: A systematic review of reviews
BACKGROUND: Much progress has been made in interventions to prevent HIV infection. However, development of evidence-informed prevention programmes that translate the efficacy of these strategies into population effect remain a...
