Category Archives: Testing
Expanding access to HIV viral load testing: A systematic review of RNA stability in EDTA tubes and PPT beyond current time and temperature thresholds
BACKGROUND: HIV viral load (VL) testing is the gold standard for antiretroviral treatment monitoring, but many barriers exist to VL testing in resource-limited settings, including storage and transport limitations for...
Diagnosing acute and prevalent HIV-1 infection in young African adults seeking care for fever: A systematic review and audit of current practice
Fever is a common complaint in HIV-1 infected adults and may be a presenting sign of acute HIV-1 infection (AHI). We investigated the extent to which HIV-1 infection was considered...
Systematic review and meta-analysis of community and facility-based HIV testing to address linkage to care gaps in sub-Saharan Africa
HIV testing and counselling is the first crucial step for linkage to HIV treatment and prevention. However, despite high HIV burden in sub-Saharan Africa, testing coverage is low, particularly among...
Cost-effectiveness of counseling and testing to prevent sexual transmission of HIV in the United States
In this paper we review the cost-effectiveness of HIV counseling and testing in various settings and populations in preventing the sexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus, and we discuss how...
Head-to-head comparison of accuracy of a rapid point-of-care HIV test with oral versus whole-blood specimens: A systematic review and meta-analysis
BACKGROUND: The focus on prevention strategies aimed at curbing the HIV epidemic is growing, and therefore screening for HIV has again taken centre stage. Our aim was to establish whether...
Factors that affect HIV testing and counseling services among heterosexuals in Canada and the United Kingdom: An integrated review
OBJECTIVE: To examine factors that affect the utilization of HIV testing and counseling (HTC) services among heterosexual populations in Canada and the U.K. METHODS: We conducted an integrated review of...
Unit costs for delivery of antiretroviral treatment and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV: A systematic review for low- and middle-income countries
As antiretroviral treatment (ART) for HIV/AIDS is scaled up globally, information on per-person costs is critical to improve efficiency in service delivery and to maximize coverage and health impact. The...
HIV/STI risk among venue-based female sex workers across the globe: A look back and the way forward
Female sex workers (FSWs) continue to represent a high-risk population in need of targeted HIV prevention interventions. Targeting environmental risk factors should result in more sustainable behavior change than individual-level...
Effect of preventive treatment for tuberculosis in adults infected with HIV: Systematic review of randomised placebo controlled trials
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether preventive treatment for tuberculosis in adults infected with HIV reduces the frequency of tuberculosis and overall mortality. DESIGN: Systematic review and data synthesis of randomised placebo...
Supervised and unsupervised self-testing for HIV in high- and low-risk populations: A systematic review.
BACKGROUND: Stigma, discrimination, lack of privacy, and long waiting times partly explain why six out of ten individuals living with HIV do not access facility-based testing. By circumventing these barriers,...
