Abstract
This observational study compared uptake of infant prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV services pre/post implementation of Option B+ in Lilongwe, Malawi. There were 845 (pre) and 998 (post) births. Post-B+, infants had longer median predelivery maternal antiretroviral therapy {62 days [interquartile range (IQR): 38-94] pre-B+ vs. 95 days [IQR: 61-131] post-B+; P < 0.0001} and improved polymerase chain reaction testing (82.0% vs. 86.5%; P 0.01) at younger median age [7.6 weeks (IQR: 6.6-10.9) vs. 6.9 (IQR: 6.4-8.1); P < 0.0001]. Proportion testing polymerase chain reaction positive decreased (4.6% vs. 2.6%; P 0.03). Proportion of HIV-infected infants starting antiretroviral therapy (75% vs. 77.3%) and age at initiation [19.7 weeks (IQR: 15.4-31.1) vs. 16 (IQR: 13.3-17.9)] remained unchanged. These findings suggest modest improvements in infant care with Option B+.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 99-103 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes |
| Volume | 70 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 1 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Africa
- HIV
- Malawi
- Option B+
- PMTCT
- antiretroviral
- early infant diagnosis
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Infectious Diseases
- Pharmacology (medical)