Family APGAR and treatment outcomes among HIV patients at two ART Centers in Kumasi, Ghana

objectives: This study aimed to examine the association between Family Adaptability, Partnership, Growth, Affection and Resolve (Family APGAR) and HIV treatment outcomes. Design: A cross-sectional study using the Family APGAR questionnaire Setting: The study was conducted in Kumasi, Ghana, at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Hospital Participants: Consenting HIV-positive patients who had been on treatment for at least 12 months were recruited. Main outcome measures: The Family APGAR questionnaire was administered, and relevant data were extracted from hospital records and analysed using STATA® software. The relationship between Family APGAR and treatment outcomes was determined using Chi-squared tests or Fisher's exact test. Results: Approximately 70.1% of 304 participants were females with a mean age of 41.8 years (±9.9). At treatment initiation, 47.4% of the patients presented at World Health Organisation (WHO) clinical stages I and II and had a CD4 count ≥ 200 cells/mm3 . Females were less likely (Odds Ratio= 0.52; 95% CI=0.31 ­ 0.90, p = 0.018) to report late for treatment compared with the males. After 12 months of treatment, approximately 70% recorded undetectable viral load. Patients with functional families constituted 70.4%, which had a statistically significant relationship with viral load (p = 0.041). Conclusion: HIV care providers should incorporate family functionality evaluation into clinical practice and provide early essential support to enhance treatment outcomes

Quality of health care and viral suppression among human immunodeficiency virus patients

Background In Mexico, the quality of health care for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients is unknown. The study objectives were to develop quality of care (QoC) indicators for outpatient care of HIV patients, evaluate the quality of the processes of care (QPC) and outcomes, and analyze the association between the QPC and viral suppression among HIV patients. Methods The study used a mixed-methods approach: (1) Development of QoC indicators through RAND/UCLA method; (2) cross-sectional study of QoC evaluation; and (3) multiple Poisson regressions to measure the association between the QPC and viral suppression. The study included 439 HIV patients, ≥ 19 years of age, with at least one outpatient consultation during 2017 at a public hospital in the State of Mexico. Results We developed 21 QoC indicators to evaluate HIV care. Based on these indicators, the QoC gaps that emerged were related to clinical history (24% of patient records included sexual history information), routine adherence assessment (no records demonstrated regular recording of antiretroviral treatment adherence), and screening and referral (50% were screened for depression, and 42% for tuberculosis; 1.2% of patients with abnormal body mass index were referred to a dietitian). On average, HIV patients received 63% of recommended QPC; 77.7% achieved viral suppression. Receiving over 75% of recommended QPC was associated with a higher probability of viral suppression (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.13, 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.24). Conclusions Evaluation of the QoC for HIV patients is essential to identify and address gaps in health-care quality to increase the probability of viral suppression.

HIV care continuum among newly diagnosed student and non-student youths between 2012 and 2016 in Hangzhou, China / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

Background@#Youths are disproportionally affected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. We aimed to assess antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation and viral suppression rates among student and non-student youths in Hangzhou, China.@*Methods@#Data were taken from the Chinese HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome Comprehensive Response Information Management System. Youths aged 15 to 24 years who were newly diagnosed with HIV between 2012 and 2016 and were living in Hangzhou were included in the study. Comparisons between student and non-student youths were made for ART initiation within 30 days, 90 days, and 12 months of HIV diagnosis, and the viral suppression rate at 12 months of HIV diagnosis and at 12 months of ART initiation.@*Results@#A total of 707 cases met inclusion criteria, 29.6% of which were students and 70.4% were non-student youths. The student group had a higher proportion of ART initiation compared with the non-student group within 30 days of diagnosis (45.5% vs. 37.0%, P = 0.044), and a slightly higher but not statistically significant proportion at 90 days (67.0% vs. 62.7%), and 12 months (83.7% vs. 78.5%) of HIV diagnosis. ART initiation within 30 days improved from <15% in 2012 to over 65% in 2016 in both groups, and ART initiation within 90 days improved from <30% in 2012 to >90% in 2016. A smaller proportion of students experienced viral suppression compared with the non-student group (9.6% vs. 17.1%, P = 0.011) at 12 months after HIV diagnosis, but the suppression rate was similar at 12 months of ART initiation (69.9% vs. 71.1%, P = 0.743).@*Conclusions@#ART initiation in both student and non-student youths has significantly improved between 2012 and 2016. However, the viral suppression rate remained unacceptably low at 12 months of HIV diagnosis in both student and non-student groups. Specific intervention strategies must be taken to address this challenge.

Viral load suppression and acquired HIV drug resistance in adults receiving antiretroviral therapy in Viet Nam: results from a nationally representative survey

Objective@#The purpose of this survey was to estimate the prevalence of viral load (VL) suppression and emergence of HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) among individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 36 months or longer in Viet Nam using a nationally representative sampling method.@*Methods@#The survey was conducted between May and August 2014 using a two-stage cluster design. Sixteen ART clinics were selected using probability proportional to proxy size sampling, and patients receiving ART for at least 36 months were consecutively enrolled. Epidemiological information and blood specimens were collected for HIV-1 VL and HIVDR testing; HIVDR was defined by the Stanford University HIVDR algorithm.@*Results@#Overall, 365 eligible individuals were recruited with a mean age of 38.2 years; 68.4% were men. The mean time on ART was 75.5 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 69.0–81.9 months), and 93.7% of the patients were receiving non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based regimens. Of the 365 individuals, 345 (94.7%, 95% CI: 64.1–99.4%) had VL below 1000 copies/mL and 19 (4.6%, 95% CI: 2.8-–7.5) had HIVDR mutations.@*Discussion@#Our nationally representative survey found a high level of VL suppression and a low prevalence of HIVDR among individuals who received ART for at least 36 months in Viet Nam. Continued surveillance for HIVDR is important for evaluating and improving HIV programs.

HIV-1 drug resistance genotypic profiles in children with undetectable plasma viremia during antiretroviral therapy

Treatment of HIV-1 infection with highly active antiretroviral therapy has led to sustained viral suppression in the plasma in a large number of children. However, studies have suggested that the integrated provirus in resting CD4+ T lymphocytes could be a source of reactivatable virus and maintain drug-resistant virus. We evaluated the resistance-related mutations in children receiving antiretroviral therapy with prolonged viral suppression. Thirty-two peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples from 16 children with viral loads that had been below detection limits for at least 12 months were obtained at two different time points and the DNAs sequenced. The median CD4 cell count was 1,016 cells/mm³ (347-2,588) and 938 cells/mm³ (440-3,038) at the first and second time points, respectively. The median follow-up time was 15 months (9-27). Six (37.5 percent) and seven (43.75 percent) of the 16 patients showed at least one NRTI-associated mutation in the first and second samples, respectively. Two out of 16 (12.5 percent) had an NNRTI-associated mutation at the first time point and three out of 16 (18.75 percent) at the second. In addition, 14 out of 16 (87.5 percent) had at least one PI-associated mutation at both time points. Despite plasma HIV-1 RNA suppression for at least 12 months, resistance-related mutations from previous antiretroviral failures could still be detected in archival virus. Furthermore, viral evolution occurred at the reverse transcriptase region in spite of viral suppression to levels below 400 copies/mL. Persistence of archival resistant virus may be relevant when considering future treatment options.

Management of Chronic Hepatitis B with Nucleoside or Nucleotide Analogues: A Review of Current Guidelines

Antiviral treatment of hepatitis B is one of the most rapidly evolving fields in current medicine. Guidelines for the management of chronic hepatitis B (CH-B) have been proposed and revised by many academic societies and groups. Recommendations for nucleoside or nucleotide analogue (NUC) therapy from representative current guidelines are compared herein with each other and with previous guidelines. Several differences among individual recommendations may reflect regional and temporal differences as well as differences in the available data upon which the guidelines are based. Nevertheless, these guidelines share a common principle regarding NUC treatment for CH-B: long-term viral suppression by the drugs with potent antiviral activity and low rate of development of drug resistance to prevent disease progression. A review of the past and current guidelines for the management of CH-B would be useful for evaluating the current status of management of the disease and to identify better solutions for improving the outcome of patients with CH-B.