Category Archives: Testing
Polymerase chain reaction for the diagnosis of HIV infection in adults: A meta-analysis with recommendations for clinical practice and study design
PURPOSE: To do a meta-analysis of studies that have evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for the diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in...
Stigma in the HIV/AIDS epidemic: A review of the literature and recommendations for the way forward
Although stigma is considered a major barrier to effective responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, stigma reduction efforts are relegated to the bottom of AIDS programme priorities. The complexity of HIV/AIDS-related...
Rapid point-of-care HIV testing in youth: A systematic review
PURPOSE: This review examines the literature surrounding acceptability of, and preference for, rapid point-of-care (POC) human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing in youth, documents notification rates when youth were offered rapid...
A systematic review of interventions to reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination from 2002 to 2013: How far have we come?
Introduction: HIV-related stigma and discrimination continue to hamper efforts to prevent new infections and engage people in HIV treatment, care and support programmes. The identification of effective interventions to reduce...
Definition of a core set of quality indicators for the assessment of HIV/AIDS clinical care: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: Several organizations and individual authors have been proposing quality indicators for the assessment of clinical care in HIV/AIDS patients. Nevertheless, the definition of a consensual core set of indicators...
Provider-initiated testing and counselling programmes in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review of their operational implementation
OBJECTIVE: The routine offer of an HIV test during patient-provider encounters is gaining momentum within HIV treatment and prevention programmes. This review examined the operational implementation of provider-initiated testing and...
Quantifying and addressing losses along the continuum of care for people living with HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review
INTRODUCTION: Recent years have seen an increasing recognition of the need to improve access and retention in care for people living with HIV/AIDS. This review aims to quantify patients along...
A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of alternative HIV counseling and testing methods to increase knowledge of HIV status
BACKGROUND: Alternatives to conventional HIV counseling and testing (HIV-CT) have been used to improve receipt of HIV test results. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness of alternative HIV-CT methods on the...
HIV type-1 drug resistance in treatment-naive patients monitored using minority species assays: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: The detection of mutations associated with drug resistance in HIV type-1 might be increased by applying minority species assays capable of identifying low frequency mutations in comparison with the...
The cost-effectiveness of preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV in low- and middle-income countries: Systematic review
Background: Although highly effective prevention interventions exist, the epidemic of paediatric HIV continues to challenge control efforts in resource-limited settings. We reviewed the cost-effectiveness of interventions to prevent mother-to-child transmission...
