HIV self-testing: a cross-sectional survey conducted among students at a tertiary institution in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2020.

Background: Despite the growing evidence for reasonable acceptance and the willingness to use HIV self-testing (HIVST), South Africa has not yet fully explored HIVST. Objective: This study's objective was to determine knowledge, attitudes, and practices for HIVST among students aged 18 to 29 years from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Methods: An online cross-sectional self-administered survey was used to collect data from 01 January 2020 to 31 June 2020. Chi-squared test was used to determine the contribution between categorical variables and HIVST outcomes at a P-value of ≤0.05. Logistic regression was performed to analyze the association between categorical variables with HIVST at a 95% confidence interval. Results: A total of 227 students were included and more than half were females and 68% were between 20 and 24 years of age. Only 15% reported prior access to HIVST. Almost all students (99%) indicated that they would confirm self-test results if positive. Age group 25-29 (aOR 3.43; 95% CI 1.7-77) was associated with HIVST access compared to ≤19 and 24-29 age groups. Conclusions: HIVST awareness was generally high among this study population. Of concern is the extremely low number of students who had previously used HIVST, as well as those who were unaware of HIVST's existence. Our findings highlight a necessity for HIVST advocacy in South Africa that provides information on where and how HIVST kits can be accessed to potentially upscale HIV testing - essential for achieving UNAIDS targets towards the elimination of HIV/AIDS epidemic as a public health threat.

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: management strategies and clinical outcomes in a regional neuroscience center.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) affects six to eight people per 100,000 annually, yet the optimum management of this condition remains controversial. Although the International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial (ISAT) explored this area, only 28% of patients from our center were randomized in that study. Our purpose was to evaluate the treatment and outcomes of patients not recruited into ISAT. METHODS: Procedural data, adverse events, additional procedures, and length of hospital stay were recorded for 122 patients who came to our center with aneurysmal SAH. Modified Rankin Scale (MRS) was assessed at 2 months and at 1 year by a postal questionnaire and telephone interview. RESULTS: Nine patients were treated conservatively, 67 underwent surgical clipping, and 46 underwent endovascular therapy. At 2 months, a good grade (MRS 0-2) was achieved in 67% of patients treated with endovascular therapy and in 45% of patients treated with surgery. At 1 year, a good grade was achieved in 72% in the endovascular group and 49% in the surgical group. CONCLUSION: Endovascular therapy was a safe and effective treatment in a series of subjects who were not randomized in ISAT and in whom endovascular therapy was chosen over surgical clipping. The outcomes at 2 months and 1 year for those subjects treated with endovascular therapy were superior to the outcomes in those treated with surgical clipping. Our study was small and from a single center, but in this population the outcomes of endovascular treatment were similar to those reported by ISAT.

Survival in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: improvements in life expectancy since 1967 and the impact of home nocturnal ventilation.

We reviewed the notes of 197 patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy whose treatment was managed at the Newcastle muscle centre from 1967 to 2002, to determine whether survival has improved over the decades and whether the impact of nocturnal ventilation altered the pattern of survival. Patients were grouped according to the decade of death and whether or not they were ventilated. Kaplan Meier survival analyses showed significant decade on decade improvement in survival. Mean age of death in the 1960s was 14.4 years, whereas for those ventilated since 1990 it was 25.3 years. Cardiomyopathy significantly shortened life expectancy from 19 years to a mean age of 16.9 years. Better coordinated care probably improved the chances of survival to 25 years from 0% in the 1960s to 4% in the 1970s and 12% in the 1980s, but the impact of nocturnal ventilation has further improved this chance to 53% for those ventilated since 1990.