Category Archives: Biomedical interventions
Randomized controlled trials of individual-level, population-level, and multilevel interventions for preventing sexually transmitted infections: What has worked?
BACKGROUND: Previous reviews of interventions to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) focused mostly on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. We reviewed trials of interventions to prevent sexual transmission of any...
HIV-related stigma as a barrier to achievement of global PMTCT and maternal health goals: A review of the evidence
The global community has set goals of virtual elimination of new child HIV infections and 50 percent reduction in HIV-related maternal mortality by the year 2015. Although much progress has...
Analytic review of modeling studies of ARV Based PrEP interventions reveals strong influence of drug-resistance assumptions on the population-level effectiveness
BACKGROUND: Four clinical trials have shown that oral and topical pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) based on tenofovir may be effective in preventing HIV transmission. The expected reduction in HIV transmission and...
Prevalence of resistance to nevirapine in mothers and children after single-dose exposure to prevent vertical transmission of HIV-1: A meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: Single-dose nevirapine (NVP) is the main option for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV-1 in countries with limited resources. However, the use of single-dose NVP results in...
Integrating prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) programmes with other health services for preventing HIV infection and improving HIV outcomes in developing countries
BACKGROUND: Every year nearly 400,000 children are infected with HIV through mother-to-child transmission (MTCT), which is responsible for more than 90% of HIV infections in children. In high-income countries, the...
Interventions for preventing late postnatal mother-to-child transmission of HIV
BACKGROUND: Worldwide, mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) represents the most common means by which children acquire HIV infection. Efficacious and effective interventions to prevent in...
Systematic review of the safety of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for prophylaxis in HIV-infected pregnant women: Implications for resource-limited settings
Daily prophylaxis with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ) significantly decreases morbidity and mortality among people living with HIV. Some clinicians are reluctant to use TMP-SMZ in pregnant and breastfeeding HIV-infected women because of...
Considerations for implementing oral preexposure prophylaxis: A literature review
Oral preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is in its infancy as an approved biomedical intervention; therefore, research is needed to understand the issues surrounding its implementation. The purpose of this literature review...
Risks and benefits of lifelong antiretroviral treatment for pregnant and breastfeeding women: A review of the evidence for the Option B+ approach
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Considerable debate has emerged on whether Option B+ (B+), initiation of lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all pregnant and breastfeeding women, is the best approach to achieving...
