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PloS One 2022The pediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART) service is introduced to save lives, restore mental and physical functions, and improve the quality of life of children living...
BACKGROUND
The pediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART) service is introduced to save lives, restore mental and physical functions, and improve the quality of life of children living with HIV/AIDS. This evaluation aimed to assess the implementation status of the pediatric ART service provision in Gondar city administration health facilities to promote evidence-based decision-making for program improvement.
METHODS
An institutional-based single case-study design with concurrent mixed methods were applied. The service was evaluated by the availability of essential resources, compliance of health providers with the standard guideline, and caregivers' satisfaction dimensions. Document review, key informant interviews, observations, and interviewer-administered exit-interview were conducted. The quantitative data were analyzed in descriptive and analytical, while the qualitative data were transcribed, translated, and thematically analyzed. A logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with caregivers' satisfaction.
RESULTS
The overall implementation of pediatric ART service was 75.32%. The availability, compliance, and satisfaction were 68.96%, 74.44%, and 84.64%, respectively. Trained healthcare professionals, essential ART drugs, registers, and basic laboratory diagnostic equipment were reasonably available. However, the lack of opportunistic infection medications and adequate rooms were significant gaps in service provision. Respondents noted a shortage of drugs and rooms for consultation and service provision. Short travel distance (AOR = 2.87), low viral load (AOR = 3.15), and sex of caregivers (AOR = 4.98) were significantly associated with good satisfaction.
CONCLUSIONS
The overall implementation of pediatric ART service is well based on the pre-determined judgment criteria. The health facilities and policymakers are advised to focus on availing medications to treat opportunistic infections and expanding the health facility to have enough space for consultation and service provision. Furthermore, particular emphasis should be given to caregivers who come from long distances and patients with a high viral load to increase caregivers' satisfaction.
Topics: Child; Humans; Quality of Life; HIV Infections; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Caregivers; Health Facilities
PubMed: 36584222
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279890 -
Journal of the International AIDS... Jun 2021The Central Africa International epidemiology Database to Evaluate AIDS (CA-IeDEA) is an open observational cohort study investigating impact, progression and long-term... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
Trends in demographic and clinical characteristics and initiation of antiretroviral therapy among adult patients enrolling in HIV care in the Central Africa International epidemiology Database to Evaluate AIDS (CA-IeDEA) 2004 to 2018.
INTRODUCTION
The Central Africa International epidemiology Database to Evaluate AIDS (CA-IeDEA) is an open observational cohort study investigating impact, progression and long-term outcomes of HIV/AIDS among people living with HIV (PLWH) in Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Republic of Congo (ROC) and Rwanda. We describe trends in demographic, clinical and immunological characteristics as well as antiretroviral therapy (ART) use of patients aged > 15 years entering into HIV care in the participating CA-IeDEA site.
METHODS
Information on sociodemographic characteristics, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), CD4 cell count, WHO staging and ART status at entry into care from 2004 through 2018 were extracted from clinic records of patients aged > 15 years enrolling in HIV care at participating clinics in Burundi, Cameroon, DRC, ROC and Rwanda. We assessed trends in patient characteristics at enrolment in HIV care including ART initiation within the first 30 days after enrolment in care and calculated proportions, means and medians (interquartile ranges) for the main variables of interest.
RESULTS
Among 69,176 patients in the CA-IeDEA cohort, 39% were from Rwanda, 24% from ROC, 18% from Cameroon, 14% from Burundi and 5% from DRC. More women (66%) than men enrolled in care and subsequently initiated ART. Women were also younger than men (32 vs. 38 years, P < 0.001) at enrolment and at ART initiation. Trends over time show increases in median CD4 cell count at enrolment from 190 cells/µL in 2004 to 334 cells/µL in 2018 at enrolment. Among those with complete data on CD4 counts (60%), women had a higher median CD4 cell count at care entry than men (229 vs. 249 cells/µL, P < 0.001). Trends in the proportion of patients using ART within 30 days of enrolment at the participating site show an increase from 16% in 2004 to 75% in 2018.
CONCLUSIONS
Trends from 2004 to 2018 in the characteristics of patients participating in the CA-IeDEA cohort highlight improvements at entry into care and subsequent ART initiation including after the implementation of Treat All guidelines in the participating sites.
Topics: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Adult; Africa, Central; Aged; Anti-HIV Agents; CD4 Lymphocyte Count; Demography; Female; HIV Infections; Humans; Male
PubMed: 34152663
DOI: 10.1002/jia2.25672 -
Journal of the International AIDS... Dec 2021While pregnant people have been an important focus for HIV research, critical evidence gaps remain regarding prevention, co-infection, and safety and efficacy of new...
INTRODUCTION
While pregnant people have been an important focus for HIV research, critical evidence gaps remain regarding prevention, co-infection, and safety and efficacy of new antiretroviral therapies in pregnancy. Such gaps can result in harm: without safety data, drugs used may carry unacceptable risks to the foetus or pregnant person; without pregnancy-specific dosing data, pregnant people face risks of both toxicity and undertreatment; and delays in gathering evidence can limit access to beneficial next-generation drugs. Despite recognition of the need, numerous barriers and ethical complexities have limited progress. We describe the process, ethical foundations, recommendations and applications of guidance for advancing responsible inclusion of pregnant people in HIV/co-infections research.
DISCUSSION
The 26-member international and interdisciplinary Pregnancy and HIV/AIDS: Seeking Equitable Study (PHASES) Working Group was convened to develop ethics-centred guidance for advancing timely, responsible HIV/co-infections research with pregnant people. Deliberations over 3 years drew on extensive qualitative research, stakeholder engagement, expert consultation and a series of workshops. The guidance, initially issued in July 2020, highlights conceptual shifts needed in framing research with pregnant people, and articulates three ethical foundations to ground recommendations: equitable protection from drug-related risks, timely access to biomedical advances and equitable respect for pregnant people's health interests. The guidance advances 12 specific recommendations, actionable within the current regulatory environment, addressing multiple stakeholders across drug development and post-approval research, and organized around four themes: building capacity, supporting inclusion, achieving priority research and ensuring respect. The recommendations describe strategies towards ethically redressing the evidence gap for pregnant people around HIV and co-infections. The guidance has informed key efforts of leading organizations working to advance needed research, and identifies further opportunities for impact by a range of stakeholder groups.
CONCLUSIONS
There are clear pathways towards ethical inclusion of pregnant people in the biomedical research agenda, and strong agreement across the HIV research community about the need for - and the promise of - advancing them. Those who fund, conduct, oversee and advocate for research can use the PHASES guidance to facilitate more, better and earlier evidence to optimize the health and wellbeing of pregnant people and their children.
Topics: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Biomedical Research; Child; Coinfection; Female; HIV Infections; Humans; Pregnancy; Stakeholder Participation
PubMed: 34910846
DOI: 10.1002/jia2.25846 -
Sante (Montrouge, France) 1997Two cross-sectional studies were carried out in the pediatric ward of the Tokoin Teaching Hospital, Lome. One study determined the prevalence of HIV infection in the 49...
Two cross-sectional studies were carried out in the pediatric ward of the Tokoin Teaching Hospital, Lome. One study determined the prevalence of HIV infection in the 49 malnourished patients treated in the ward in February to March and between August and December 1994. The other was carried out between July 1994 and January 1995 and included 57 other hospitalized children fulfilling at least one of the WHO's pediatric AIDS criteria. The aim was to draw up a screening system for pediatric AIDS based on clinical scores that would be more sensitive than and as specific as the WHO criteria. We tested these criteria and the other signs used in the suggested scoring system using the reference test, HIVchek. The seroprevalence of HIV was 28.6% in malnourished children and transmission was probably exclusively from mother to child. It was difficult to distinguish pediatric AIDS from protein energy malnutrition on clinical grounds, although some of the associated morbidities, including anemia, adenopathy and splenomegaly, were highly suggestive of pediatric AIDS. The second study showed that: 1) the sensitivity of the WHO criteria was low; 2) the best positive predictive values were obtained in cases of polyadenopathy and confirmed HIV infection of the mother. Both these criteria were relatively infrequent; 3) there were 6 criteria significantly associated with HIV infection, each being given a point score according to its Yule coefficient: chronic cough (4 points), chronic diarrhea (3 points), chronic fever (2 points), oropharyngeal candidiasis (2 points) and marasmus (1 point). A score of 4 points was the threshold for suspicion of pediatric AIDS. Our scoring system was more sensitive than the WHO criteria and had similar specificity and positive predictive value. We stress the importance of preventive measures against HIV infection, particularly for women of child-bearing age and suggest a new score test and appropriate clinical definitions for infants and older children.
Topics: AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Adolescent; Anemia; Candidiasis, Oral; Child; Child, Preschool; Chronic Disease; Cough; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diarrhea; Female; Fever; HIV Infections; HIV Seroprevalence; Hospitals, Teaching; Humans; Infant; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; Lymphatic Diseases; Male; Predictive Value of Tests; Prevalence; Protein-Energy Malnutrition; Sensitivity and Specificity; Splenomegaly; Togo; World Health Organization
PubMed: 9503498
DOI: No ID Found -
Indian Pediatrics Mar 2009Clinical needs for new antifungal agents have steadily increased with the rise and alteration in spectrum of invasive mycoses in children and neonates having AIDS,... (Review)
Review
Clinical needs for new antifungal agents have steadily increased with the rise and alteration in spectrum of invasive mycoses in children and neonates having AIDS, malignancies and undergoing immunosuppressive therapies. Several new options are now available for management of serious fungal infections. The aim of this review is to summarize the key features of the new antifungal agents and novel targets being investigated for the treatment of fungal infections, with special reference to its use in the treatment of pediatric fungal infections. New triazoles have broad spectrum of activity with voriconazole presently being the drug of choice against invasive aspergillosis, and posaconazole is the possible first substitute of amphotericin B against zygomycosis. Echinocandins with new mode of action of inhibition of fungal cell wall polysaccharide synthesis are effective in treating candidemia and invasive candidiasis. Some of these agents are however, still awaiting FDA approval for their use in pediatric practice.
Topics: Antifungal Agents; Azoles; Child; Child, Preschool; Echinocandins; Humans; Mycoses; Pediatrics
PubMed: 19346570
DOI: No ID Found -
The Lancet. HIV May 2023Point-of-care (POC) nucleic acid testing for diagnosis of HIV in infants facilitates earlier initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) than with centralised...
BACKGROUND
Point-of-care (POC) nucleic acid testing for diagnosis of HIV in infants facilitates earlier initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) than with centralised (standard-of-care, SOC) testing, but can be more expensive. We evaluated cost-effectiveness data from mathematical models comparing POC with SOC to provide global policy guidance.
METHODS
In this systematic review of modelling studies, we searched PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, the National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database, Econlit, and conference abstracts, combining terms for "HIV" + "infant"/"early infant diagnosis" + "point-of-care" + "cost-effectiveness" + "mathematical models", without restrictions from database inception to July 15, 2022. We selected reports of mathematical cost-effectiveness models comparing POC with SOC for HIV diagnosis in infants younger than 18 months. Titles and abstracts were independently reviewed, with full-text review for qualifying articles. We extracted data on health and economic outcomes and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) for narrative synthesis. The primary outcomes of interest were ICERs (comparing POC with SOC) for ART initiation and survival of children living with HIV.
FINDINGS
Our search identified 75 records through database search. 13 duplicates were excluded, leaving 62 non-duplicate articles. 57 records were excluded and five were reviewed in full text. One article was excluded as it was not a modelling study, and four qualifying studies were included in the review. These four reports were from two mathematical models from two independent modelling groups. Two reports used the Johns Hopkins model to compare POC with SOC for repeat early infant diagnosis testing in the first 6 months in sub-Saharan Africa (first report, simulation of 25 000 children) and Zambia (second report, simulation of 7500 children). In the base scenario, POC versus SOC increased probability of ART initiation within 60 days of testing from 19% to 82% (ICER per additional ART initiation range US$430-1097; 9-month cost horizon) in the first report; and from 28% to 81% in the second ($23-1609, 5-year cost horizon). Two reports compared POC with SOC for testing at 6 weeks in Zimbabwe using the Cost-Effectiveness of Preventing AIDS Complications-Paediatric model (simulation of 30 million children; lifetime horizon). POC increased life expectancy and was considered cost-effective compared with SOC (ICER $711-850 per year of life saved in HIV-exposed children). Results were robust throughout sensitivity and scenario analyses. In most scenarios, platform cost-sharing (co-use with other programmes) resulted in POC being cost-saving compared with SOC.
INTERPRETATION
Four reports from two different models suggest that POC is a cost-effective and potentially cost-saving strategy for upscaling of early infant testing compared with SOC.
FUNDING
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Unitaid, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, WHO, and Massachusetts General Hospital Research Scholars.
Topics: Child; Humans; State Medicine; HIV Infections; Point-of-Care Systems; Point-of-Care Testing; Early Diagnosis; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
PubMed: 37149292
DOI: 10.1016/S2352-3018(23)00029-2 -
The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal Jun 2016Little is known on the risk of cancer in HIV-positive children in sub-Saharan Africa. We examined incidence and risk factors of AIDS-defining and other cancers in...
BACKGROUND
Little is known on the risk of cancer in HIV-positive children in sub-Saharan Africa. We examined incidence and risk factors of AIDS-defining and other cancers in pediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs in South Africa.
METHODS
We linked the records of 5 ART programs in Johannesburg and Cape Town to those of pediatric oncology units, based on name and surname, date of birth, folder and civil identification numbers. We calculated incidence rates and obtained hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) from Cox regression models including ART, sex, age and degree of immunodeficiency. Missing CD4 counts and CD4% were multiply imputed. Immunodeficiency was defined according to World Health Organization 2005 criteria.
RESULTS
Data of 11,707 HIV-positive children were included in the analysis. During 29,348 person-years of follow-up 24 cancers were diagnosed, for an incidence rate of 82 per 100,000 person-years (95% CI: 55-122). The most frequent cancers were Kaposi sarcoma (34 per 100,000 person-years) and non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (31 per 100,000 person-years). The incidence of non AIDS-defining malignancies was 17 per 100,000. The risk of developing cancer was lower on ART (HR: 0.29; 95% CI: 0.09-0.86), and increased with age at enrollment (>10 vs. <3 years: HR: 7.3; 95% CI: 2.2-24.6) and immunodeficiency at enrollment (advanced/severe versus no/mild: HR: 3.5; 95% CI: 1.1-12.0). The HR for the effect of ART from complete case analysis was similar but ceased to be statistically significant (P = 0.078).
CONCLUSIONS
Early HIV diagnosis and linkage to care, with start of ART before advanced immunodeficiency develops, may substantially reduce the burden of cancer in HIV-positive children in South Africa and elsewhere.
Topics: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Adolescent; Child; Child, Preschool; Cohort Studies; Female; Humans; Incidence; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Neoplasms; Risk Factors; South Africa
PubMed: 26906162
DOI: 10.1097/INF.0000000000001117 -
Journal of the International AIDS... Oct 2023With the scaling up of vertical HIV transmission prevention programmes, the HIV-related population profile of children in South Africa has shifted. We described temporal...
INTRODUCTION
With the scaling up of vertical HIV transmission prevention programmes, the HIV-related population profile of children in South Africa has shifted. We described temporal changes in HIV-related characteristics of children, aged ≤3 years (up to the third birthday), with infectious disease hospitalisations across the Western Cape province.
METHODS
We used routinely collected electronic data to identify children born in the Western Cape with infectious disease hospital records for lower respiratory tract infections, diarrhoea, meningitis and tuberculous meningitis, from 2008 to 2021. Linked maternal and child unique identifiers were used to extract pregnancy, HIV-related, laboratory, pharmacy and hospitalisation data. We described temporal changes in child HIV exposure and acquisition status, timing of maternal HIV diagnosis and antiretroviral therapy (ART) start, infant exposure to maternal ART and timing thereof, and maternal CD4 and HIV viral load closest to delivery. We used logistic and multinomial regression to assess changes in characteristics between the Pre-Option B+ (2008-2013), Option B+ (2013-2016) and Universal ART periods (2016-2021).
RESULTS
Among 52,811 children aged ≤3 years with hospitalisations, the proportion living with HIV dreased from 7.0% (2008) to 1.1% (2021), while those exposed to HIV and uninfected increased from 14.0% (2008) to 16.1% (2021) with a peak of 18.3% in 2017. Among mothers with HIV (n = 9873), the proportion diagnosed with HIV and starting ART before pregnancy increased from 20.2% to 69.2% and 5.8% to 59.0%, respectively, between 2008 and 2021. Children hospitalised during the Universal ART period had eight times higher odds (Odds Ratio: 8.41; 95% CI: 7.36-9.61) of exposure to maternal ART versus children admitted Pre-Option B+. Among mothers of children exposed to HIV and uninfected with CD4 records (n = 7523), the proportion with CD4 <350 cells/μl decreased from 90.6% (2008) to 27.8% (2021).
CONCLUSIONS
In recent years, among children hospitalised with infectious diseases, there were fewer children with perinatally acquired HIV, while an increased proportion of those without HIV acquisition are exposed to maternal HIV and ART. There is a need to look beyond paediatric HIV prevalence and consider child exposure to HIV and ART among children without HIV, when assessing the HIV epidemic's impact on child health services.
Topics: Infant; Pregnancy; Female; Child; Humans; HIV Infections; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious; South Africa; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Mothers; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical
PubMed: 37909168
DOI: 10.1002/jia2.26151 -
PloS One 2020Anti-retroviral therapy (ART) has been highly successful in controlling HIV replication, reducing viral burden, and preventing both progression to AIDS and viral...
Anti-retroviral therapy (ART) has been highly successful in controlling HIV replication, reducing viral burden, and preventing both progression to AIDS and viral transmission. Yet, ART alone cannot cure the infection. Even after years of successful therapy, ART withdrawal leads inevitably to viral rebound within a few weeks or months. Our hypothesis: effective therapy must control both the replicating virus pool and the reactivatable latent viral reservoir. To do this, we have combined ART and immunotherapy to attack both viral pools simultaneously. The vaccine regimen consisted of DNA vaccine expressing SIV Gag, followed by a boost with live attenuated rubella/gag vectors. The vectors grow well in rhesus macaques, and they are potent immunogens when used in a prime and boost strategy. We infected rhesus macaques by high dose mucosal challenge with virulent SIVmac251 and waited three days to allow viral dissemination and establishment of a reactivatable viral reservoir before starting ART. While on ART, the control group received control DNA and empty rubella vaccine, while the immunotherapy group received DNA/gag prime, followed by boosts with rubella vectors expressing SIV gag over 27 weeks. Both groups had a vaccine "take" to rubella, and the vaccine group developed antibodies and T cells specific for Gag. Five weeks after the last immunization, we stopped ART and monitored virus rebound. All four control animals eventually had a viral rebound, and two were euthanized for AIDS. One control macaque did not rebound until 2 years after ART release. In contrast, there was only one viral rebound in the vaccine group. Three out of four vaccinees had no viral rebound, even after CD8 depletion, and they remain in drug-free viral remission more than 2.5 years later. The strategy of early ART combined with immunotherapy can produce a sustained SIV remission in macaques and may be relevant for immunotherapy of HIV in humans.
Topics: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Animals; Anti-HIV Agents; Combined Modality Therapy; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Administration Schedule; Drug Therapy, Combination; Gene Products, gag; Genetic Vectors; Humans; Macaca mulatta; Plasmids; Rubella virus; SAIDS Vaccines; Simian Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Simian Immunodeficiency Virus; Time Factors; Treatment Outcome; Vaccines, Attenuated; Vaccines, DNA; Virus Latency; Virus Replication
PubMed: 32130229
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228163 -
Medicina Oral, Patologia Oral Y Cirugia... 2005Dentists who treat children must be alert to the possibility of finding diseases of the oral mucosa, especially in younger children. The present study aimed to review... (Review)
Review
Dentists who treat children must be alert to the possibility of finding diseases of the oral mucosa, especially in younger children. The present study aimed to review the most updated information and the experience of our group in order to yield epidemiological data that assist diagnosis of the most common diseases of the oral mucosa in children. Recent epidemiologic studies have shown a wide variability in the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions in different regions of the world and have led researchers to draw disparate conclusions. Moreover, studies have not been designed using standard criteria, further explaining the wide variability in the percentage of different groups of children with oral lesions, which ranges from 4.1 to 52.6%. The lesions most frequently considered by authors and that most often appear in the different studies are: recurrent aphthous stomatitis (0.9-10.8%), labial herpes (0.78-5.2%), fissured tongue (1.49-23%), geographic tongue (0.60-9.8%), oral candidiasis (0.01-37%) and traumatic injury (0.09%-22.15%). Dentists must be able to detect any of the numerous possible disorders and perform the correct differential diagnosis, key to the treatment plan. The aim of this paper, based on a review of the different national and international studies, is to contribute data on the most important oral mucosal diseases in the paediatric population in terms of prevalence and differential diagnosis.
Topics: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Brazil; Candidiasis, Oral; Child; Child, Preschool; Glossitis, Benign Migratory; Herpes Labialis; Humans; Maxillofacial Injuries; Mexico; Mouth Diseases; Mouth Mucosa; Mucositis; Oral Ulcer; Prevalence; Recurrence; South Africa; Spain; Stomatitis, Aphthous; Tongue, Fissured; United States
PubMed: 16264385
DOI: No ID Found