Elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Oman: a success story from the Middle East

Background: In January 2016, the National AIDS Programme (NAP) in Oman introduced a package of interventions, including capacity building for service providers, to improve the quality of HIV services. Aims: To report the impact of these interventions on the rate of vertical HIV transmission in the period from January 2016 to December 2019. We also describe the virological and obstetric outcomes for HIV-infected pregnant women. Methods: This was a medical record review of 94 HIV-positive pregnant women (median age 32 years; interquartile range 25-34 years) reported to NAP in 2016–2019. Results: There were 110 pregnancies in 94 women. The majority (75.3%, 61/81) of women were diagnosed with HIV infection from routine antenatal screening, with 60% (66/110) of pregnancies occurring in women who knew their HIV status at conception. Caesarean section was the most common (50%) mode of delivery. The preterm labour and low birth weight rates were 21.2% and 15.9%, respectively. The antiretroviral coverage during pregnancy was 95.5%, with most (87.8%) women reporting excellent or good adherence. The majority (81.6%) of women achieved HIV viral load of < 400 copies/ml at or near delivery. Almost all infants (99%) were given prophylactic antiretrovirals. The rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV was 1%. Conclusion: The obstetric and virological outcomes for HIV-infected pregnant women delivered in 2016–2019 were favorable, with a low rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Oman is now in the process of finalizing application of World Health Organization validation of elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Thromboprophylaxis after bariatric surgery

BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), is a known cause of morbidity and mortality after bariatric surgery. However, the data concerning appropriate thromboprophylaxis after bariatric surgery is uncertain. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of extended duration thromboprophylaxis in post-bariatric surgery patients.METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of consecutive patients who underwent bariatric surgery from November 2014 to October 2018 at King Fahad General Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. All included patients were treated with extended duration thromboprophylaxis.RESULTS: We identified 374 patients who underwent bariatric surgery during the study period. Of these, 312 patients (83%) were followed for at least 3 months. The most common type of surgery was a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (N=357) and the median weight was 110 kg. The cumulative incidence of symptomatic postoperative VTE at 3 months was 0.64% (95% confidence interval, 0.20–1.52). All events occurred after hospital discharge. The most commonly used pharmacological prophylaxis (91%) for VTE prevention after bariatric surgery was enoxaparin 40 mg subcutaneously twice daily for 10–14 days after hospital discharge. There were no reported cases of bleeding or VTE related mortality after 3 months.CONCLUSION: Extended thromboprophylaxis after bariatric surgery appears to be an effective and safe strategy for VTE prevention. Large prospective studies are needed to evaluate the optimal thromboprophylaxis regimen after bariatric surgery.