Does HIV index testing bring patients into treatment at earlier stages of HIV disease? Results from a retrospective study in Ukraine.
BMC Infect Dis
; 24(1): 328, 2024 Mar 18.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38500055
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Over one-third of people living with HIV (PLH) in Ukraine are not on treatment. Index testing services, which link potentially exposed partners (named partners) of known PLH (index patients) with testing and treatment services, are being scaled in Ukraine and could potentially close this gap.METHODS:
This retrospective study included patient data from 14,554 adult PLH who initiated antiretroviral treatment (ART) between October 2018 and May 2021 at one of 35 facilities participating in an intervention to strengthen index testing services. Mixed effects modified Poisson models were used to assess differences between named partners and other ART initiators, and an interrupted time series (ITS) analysis was used to assess changes in ART initiation over time.RESULTS:
Compared to other ART initiators, named partners were significantly less likely to have a confirmed TB diagnosis (aRR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.40, 0.77, p < 0.001), a CD4 count less than 200 cells/mm3 (aRR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.73, 0.97, p = 0.017), or be categorized as WHO HIV stage 4 (aRR = 0.68, 9% CI = 0.55, 0.83, p < 0.001) at the time of ART initiation, and were significantly more likely to initiate ART within seven days of testing for HIV (aRR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.22, 1.50, p < 0.001). Our ITS analysis showed a modest 2.34% (95% CI = 0.26%, 4.38%; p = 0.028) month-on-month reduction in mean ART initiations comparing the post-intervention period to the pre-intervention period, although these results were likely confounded by the COVID epidemic.CONCLUSION:
Our findings suggest that index testing services may be beneficial in bringing PLH into treatment at an earlier stage of HIV disease and decreasing delays between HIV testing and ART initiation, potentially improving patient outcomes and retention in the HIV care cascade.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Contexto em Saúde:
2_ODS3
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Infecções por HIV
/
Fármacos Anti-HIV
Limite:
Adult
/
Humans
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
BMC Infect Dis
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article