Use of peers, community lay persons and Village Health Team (VHT) members improves six-week postnatal clinic (PNC) follow-up and Early Infant HIV Diagnosis (EID) in urban and rural health units in Uganda: A one-year implementation study.

BACKGROUND: Effective Prevention of Mother to child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) relies heavily on follow-up of HIV-infected women and infants from antenatal, through postnatal, to the end of the breastfeeding period. In Uganda, postnatal (PNC) follow-up remains below 50 % creating a missed opportunity for linkage to comprehensive HIV care and early infant diagnosis (EID). We evaluated the use of HIV infected peer mothers (peers), community lay persons and Village health team (VHT) members to improve PNC follow up and EID in urban and rural health units. METHODS: Study participants were HIV-infected women recruited from antenatal clinics at three urban clinics (Mulago, Rubaga and Mengo hospitals) and one rural health centre (Mpigi Health centre IV) between January and September 2010. The women were followed through delivery and the mother-infant pairs for the 6-week postnatal visit and up to 14 weeks for EID. Peers, community lay persons and VHT members were identified and trained in basic PMTCT and reproductive health (RH). They were then assigned to study clinic to support and follow study participants, their partners and infants through provision of health education, counseling, home visits, and phone call reminders. Six week PNC attendance was measured as a proportion of mother-infant pairs that returned for the 6-week postnatal follow up visit (5-8 weeks) while EID was measured as the proportion of HIV-exposed live birth that had an HIV test done by 14 weeks of age. Data at baseline (one year before the intervention) was compared with that during the one year study period among study participants and HIV infected women and their HIV-exposed infants in the whole clinic population. RESULTS: A total of 558 HIV-infected pregnant women were recruited for the study, 47 mother-infant pairs were censured before 6 weeks due to stillbirth (14), infant death < 6 weeks (23), death of participant (04) and loss to follow up before delivery (6). 401/511 (78.5 %) of mother-infant pairs returned to the study clinics at six-week, while 441/511 (86.3 %) infants were tested for HIV infection by 14 weeks of age. The baseline six-week PNC follow up was 37.7 % and increased during the study period to 78.5 % and 39.1 % among study participants and whole clinic population respectively, an incremental difference of 39.4 % (P < 0.001). EID increased from a baseline of 53.6 % to 86.3 % and 65.8 % among study and whole clinic population respectively during the study period, an incremental difference of 20.5 % (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Use of peers, community lay persons and VHT members led to a significant increase in six-week postnatal follow up of HIV infected women and EID among HIV exposed infants in the four study clinics. Our study supports the use of peers to improve early postnatal follow up and EID and should be implemented in other health units to support the PMTCT cascade.

Effects of the Pratt pouch model of dispensing nevirapine prophylaxis on HIV exposed infant completion of 6 weeks of prophylaxis in Uganda.

INTRODUCTION: The innovative Pratt pouch could optimize dispensing nevirapine prophylaxis to HIV-exposed infants in pre-measured single dose pouches to increase completion of the full 6 week infant nevirapine regimen. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nineteen health facilities with highest HIV positivity rates among pregnant women across 9 districts in southwest and central Uganda were assigned to control and intervention groups. HIV-positive women enrolled at intervention facilities received pouches filled with premeasured single doses of nevirapine using Uganda national guidelines, which were integrated into the existing drug distribution system. During antenatal care (ANC) women received 14 pouches to cover time until the 6 day postpartum visit, with an additional 8 pouches if women were delayed in returning to the facility, and 28 pouches after delivery. Women enrolled at control facilities received standard nevirapine syrup following delivery for postnatal infant prophylaxis. In a select number of intervention facilities, during ANC, women received all 42 pouches needed to complete the 6 weeks regimen. Medical record data from enrolled women were extracted; interviews with HIV-positive women during postnatal care visits were conducted. Data were collected January to August 2018 (control sites) and October 2019 to February 2020 (intervention sites). Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with facility delivery, postnatal care follow-up visit, and completion of the full 6 weeks infant nevirapine regimen. RESULTS: Significantly more women in the intervention (n = 320) versus control (n = 340) group had facility delivery (292/316, 92.4% versus 169/340, 49.7%, p<0.0001), postnatal visits within 2 weeks postpartum (295/297, 99.3% versus 133/340, 39.1%, p<0.0001) and reported their infants completing the full 6 weeks infant prophylaxis regimen (299/313, 95.5% versus 210/242, 86.8%, p = 0.0002). Dispensing 42 versus 14 pouches during ANC did not have negative effects on these outcomes. Among out-of-facility deliveries, a higher proportion of infants received nevirapine within 72 hours of birth in the intervention versus control group, 95.8% versus 77.9%. In multivariate models, the intervention group was the only significant factor associated with facility delivery or completion of the full 6 weeks infant prophylaxis. CONCLUSIONS: Use of the Pratt pouch resulted in an increase in HIV-exposed infants completing the full 6weeks prophylaxis regimen and associated benefits including increasing facility delivery and women's adherence to postnatal care services.

Developing and Validating an Effective Pediatric and Adolescent HIV Testing Eligibility Screening Tool for High-Volume Entry Points in Uganda.

INTRODUCTION: Because of low pediatric HIV prevalence, more tests are needed to find 1 HIV-positive child compared with adults. In Uganda, the number needed to test (NNT) to find 1 new HIV-positive child was 64 in outpatient departments (OPDs) and 31 through index testing. We aimed to develop and validate a pediatric (1.5-14 years) screening tool to optimize testing approaches. METHODS: Phase 1 evaluated the performance of 10 screening questions in 14 OPDs using a variable selection algorithm to evaluate combinations of screening questions. Using logistic regression, we identified the number of screening questions with the best predictive accuracy using the receiver operation characteristic curve. Phase 2 validated the proposed tool in 15 OPDs and 7 orphan and vulnerable children programs. We estimated sensitivity, specificity, and NNT accounting for intercluster correlations. RESULTS: A total of 3482 children were enrolled. The optimal model included reported HIV-positive maternal status or 2/5 symptoms (sickly in the last 3 months, recurring skin problems, weight loss, not growing well, and history of tuberculosis). The proposed tool had sensitivity of 83.6% [95% confidence interval (CI): 68.1 to 92.4] and specificity of 62.5% (95% CI: 55.0 to 69.4). The tool was validated in a sample of 11,342 children; sensitivity was 87.8% (95% CI: 80.9 to 92.5) and specificity 62.6% (95% CI: 54.8 to 69.7) across OPDs and community sites. In OPDs, sensitivity was 88.1% (95% CI: 80.8 to 92.8) and specificity 69.0% (95% CI: 61.9 to 75.3). The NNT was 43 (95% CI: 28 to 67) across settings and 28 (95% CI: 20 to 38) for OPD. CONCLUSIONS: This HIV screening tool has high sensitivity and reasonable specificity, increasing testing efficiency and yield for children and adolescents.

Clinical manifestations of severe malaria in the highlands of southwestern Uganda.

Epidemics of malaria have occurred in highland areas of East Africa since the 1980s, but the clinical spectrum of severe malaria in these areas has not been described. Over a 17-month period from 2001 to 2002, we assessed 117 consecutive patients admitted to Kabale Hospital in highland Uganda who met the World Health Organization 2000 criteria for severe malaria. Sixty-six persons (56.4%) were age 5 years or older, and 51 (43.6%) were under 5 years of age. Fever, vomiting, and cough were the most frequent symptoms. Hepatomegaly and splenomegaly were infrequent. Prostration was the most frequent manifestation of severe malaria in children under 5 years of age (45.1%) and persons 5 years or older (65.2%), followed by respiratory distress (29.4%) and severe anemia (19.6%) in children under 5 years, and respiratory distress (15.2%) and impaired consciousness (13.6%) in persons 5 years or older. Strictly defined cerebral malaria was uncommon (3.4%). In a multivariate regression model, children under 5 years were more likely than persons 5 years or older to present with severe anemia (OR 5.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2-21.9) and respiratory distress (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.3-11.1) and less likely to present with prostration (OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.1-0.7) and impaired consciousness (OR 0.2, 95% CI 0.0-0.9). In highland Uganda, severe malaria often occurs in persons older than 5 years of age. "Typical" signs like splenomegaly are frequently absent, prostration is the major manifestation, and other manifestations vary in frequency according to age.

Introduction of rapid syphilis testing within prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV programs in Uganda and Zambia: a field acceptability and feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: Given that integration of syphilis testing into prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programs can prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes, this study assessed feasibility and acceptability of introducing rapid syphilis testing (RST) into PMTCT services. METHODS: RST was introduced into PMTCT programs in Zambia and Uganda. Using a pre-post intervention design, HIV and syphilis testing and treatment rates during the intervention were compared with baseline. RESULTS: In Zambia, comparing baseline and intervention, 12,761 of 15,967 (79.9%) and 11,460 of 11,985 (95.6%) first-time antenatal care (ANC) attendees were tested for syphilis (P < 0.0001), 523 of 12,761 (4.1%) and 1050 of 11,460 (9.2%) women tested positive (P < 0.0001); and 267 of 523 (51.1%) and 1000 of 1050 (95.2%) syphilis-positive women were treated (P < 0.0001), respectively. Comparing baseline and intervention, 7479 of 7830 (95.5%) and 11,151 of 11,409 (97.7%) of ANC attendees were tested for HIV (P < 0.0001) and 1303 of 1326 (98.3%) and 2036 of 2034 (100.1%) of those testing positive received combination antiretroviral drugs or single-dose nevirapine prophylaxis (P < 0.0001). In Uganda, 13,131 of 14,540 (90.3%) women were tested for syphilis during intervention, with 690 of 13,131 (5.3%) positive and 715 of 690 (103.6%) treated. Syphilis baseline data were collected, but not included in analysis, as ANC syphilis testing before the study was not consistently practiced. Comparing baseline and intervention, 6479 of 6776 (95.6%) and 11,192 of 11,610 (96.4%) ANC attendees were tested for HIV (P = 0.0009) and 570 of 726 (78.5%) and 964 of 1153 (83.6%) received combination or single-dose prophylaxis (P = 0.007). In Zambia, 254 of 1050 (24.2%) syphilis-positive pregnant women were HIV-positive and 99 of 690 (14.3%) in Uganda. CONCLUSIONS: Integrating RST in PMTCT programs increases screening and treatment for syphilis among HIV-positive pregnant women and does not compromise HIV services.

The impact of maternal highly active antiretroviral therapy and short-course combination antiretrovirals for prevention of mother-to-child transmission on early infant infection rates at the Mulago national referral hospital in Kampala, Uganda, January 2007 to May 2009.

BACKGROUND: Early HIV infant diagnosis and treatment have been shown to dramatically improve survival in infants. Despite these findings, infants accessing HIV diagnosis and treatment remain low in Uganda. We describe the antiretroviral (ARV) drugs given in the Mulago Hospital prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) program from January 2007 to May 2009 and its impact on early infant HIV infection rates. METHODS: Pregnant women identified as HIV infected in the Mulago antenatal clinics received one of the following regimens: short-course ARV prophylaxis plus single-dose nevirapine (sdNVP) in labor, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), or sdNVP if they presented in labor. Infants received sdNVP and zidovudine (ZDV) for 1 week. Infants HIV diagnosis was done from 6 weeks after delivery. RESULTS: 62.3% of HIV-infected women received combination ARVs, including HAART. Early infection rates were highest among infants with no maternal ARV [36.4; 95% confidence interval (CI): 17.2 to 59.3] or only sdNVP (11.2; 95% CI: 8.1 to 14.8). Similar rates were observed for the group that took short-course ARVs, ZDV/sdNVP (4.6; 95% CI: 3.2 to 6.4), and ZDV/lamivudine/sdNVP (4.9; 95% CI: 3.1 to 7.2) and lowest rates for those that took HAART (1.7: 95% CI: 0.8 to 2.8). Overall infection rate was 5.0% (95% CI: 4.1 to 5.9). CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate low rates of infant infection for mothers receiving combination ARVs. These findings demonstrate that provision of combination ARV for PMTCT is feasible and effective in busy referral hospital's PMTCT programs in resource-limited settings.

Chloroquine or amodiaquine combined with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine for uncomplicated malaria: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacies against uncomplicated falciparum malaria of chloroquine (CQ), amodiaquine (AQ), sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) and combinations of these inexpensive drugs. METHODS: We searched Medline, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL Register of Controlled Trials, BIOSIS, Web of Science, African Index Medicus, DARE, Digital Dissertations and Current Controlled Trials for randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials conducted between 1991 and June 2004 regardless of language and geography. We also contacted malaria experts, searched reference lists, and contacted individual authors for unreported study characteristics and additional data. Unpublished data were sought and included in the analyses. RESULTS: Thirteen randomised trials (n = 4248) were identified and the summary relative risks of treatment failure at 28 days were calculated. There was marginal benefit in adding CQ to SP, compared with SP monotherapy (RR = 0.74, 95% CI 0.54-1.02). Combining AQ with SP was associated with a significantly lower risk of treatment failure than SP monotherapy (RR = 0.35, 95% CI 0.15-0.82) and AQ monotherapy (RR = 0.59, 95% CI 0.42-0.83). AQ plus SP was associated with a significantly lower risk of treatment failure than CQ plus SP (RR = 0.42, 95% CI 0.25-0.72). Serious adverse events were rare and did not increase with combination therapy. CONCLUSION: Amodiaquine plus SP remains an efficacious, affordable and safe option for treating malaria in certain settings.

Serum zinc status of children with persistent diarrhoea admitted to the diarrhoea management unit of Mulago Hospital, Uganda.

INTRODUCTION: Despite great advances in the management of diarrhoeal diseases, persistent diarrhoea remains a major problem in developing countries due to its syndromic nature. Zinc depletion ranks high among the factors contributing to the detrimental effects of persistent diarrhoea on the human body. This however, has not been investigated in the Ugandan population. OBJECTIVE: To determine the serum zinc status of children with persistent diarrhoea. DESIGN: Cross-sectional descriptive study. METHODS: Children aged 6-36 months with persistent diarrhoea were enrolled from the diarrhoea management unit of Mulago hospital. Socio-demographic and morbidity data were collected, and laboratory investigations were carried out after recruitment. Healthy children of similar age and sex were recruited to determine reference levels of serum zinc for comparison. RESULTS: The mean serum zinc level in the children with persistent diarrhoea was 5.83 mol/l while that of children without diarrhoea was 8.99 mol/l with no age or sex difference. The serum zinc concentration of children with persistent diarrhoea was significantly lower than that of children without diarrhoea (p<0.001). The prevalence of zinc deficiency in children with persistent diarrhoea was 47.9%. Of the children with persistent diarrhoea, 64 (66.7%) were stunted, wasted or both. However no significant association was observed between nutritional status and serum zinc levels. Only hypoproteinaemia was significantly associated with serum zinc levels in these children (p=0.03). CONCLUSION: There is a high prevalence of zinc deficiency and malnutrition among Ugandan children with persistent diarrhoea.