Category Archives: Biomedical interventions
Interventions to significantly improve service uptake and retention of HIV-positive pregnant women and HIV-exposed infants along the prevention of mother-to-child transmission continuum of care: Systematic review
OBJECTIVES: Despite the success of Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programmes, low uptake of services and poor retention pose a formidable challenge to achieving the elimination of vertical...
Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate safety for women and their infants during pregnancy and breastfeeding
OBJECTIVES: Pregnant/lactating women in some sub-Saharan Africa settings are at substantial risk of HIV acquisition and could benefit from preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), but safety data...
Retention in HIV care during pregnancy and the postpartum period in the option B+ era: A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies in Africa
BACKGROUND: Under Option B+ guidelines for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), pregnant and breastfeeding women initiate antiretroviral therapy (ART) for lifelong use. The objectives of this study were:...
Role of HIV exposure and infection in relation to neonatal GBS disease and rectovaginal GBS carriage: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) is the leading cause worldwide of neonatal sepsis. We sought to assess to which extent HIV exposure of neonates is associated with GBS neonatal disease. Furthermore, we...
Association between male circumcision and women’s biomedical health outcomes: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: Male circumcision reduces men’s risk of acquiring HIV and some sexually transmitted infections from heterosexual exposure, and is essential for HIV prevention in sub-Saharan Africa. Studies have also investigated...
Implementation effectiveness of revised (post-2010) World Health Organization guidelines on prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV using routinely collected data in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic literature review
BACKGROUND: To synthesize and evaluate the impact of implementing post-2010 World Health Organization (WHO) prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) guidelines on attainment of PMTCT targets. METHODS: Retrospective and prospective cohort...
A historical review of HIV prevention and care initiatives in British Columbia, Canada: 1996-2015
INTRODUCTION: British Columbia has made significant progress in the treatment and prevention of HIV since 1996, when Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) became available. However, we currently lack a historical...
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...
Vitamin A supplements for reducing mother-to-child HIV transmission
BACKGROUND: Strategies to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) include lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-positive women, exclusive breastfeeding from birth for six weeks...
Ranking 93 health interventions for low- and middle-income countries by cost-effectiveness
BACKGROUND: Cost-effectiveness rankings of health interventions are useful inputs for national healthcare planning and budgeting. Previous comprehensive rankings for low- and middle- income countries were undertaken in 2005 and 2006,...
