Point-of-care (POC) urine tenofovir (TFV) tests can provide timely information regarding antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence to support management of HIV treatment in clinics. However, there are limited data on the costs and feasibility of integrating POC testing into HIV clinics in sub-Saharan Africa. We characterized clinic flow and implementation costs of POC adherence testing for persons initiating ART in HIV care clinics in South Africa.
We conducted a microcosting within a randomized controlled implementation trial of POC TFV test in government clinics in Durban, South Africa (STREAM HIV). Time-and-motion observation was conducted between 1st March and 31st December 2022, to assess staff and client time needed for POC TFV testing and counselling. We estimated both financial and economic costs for capital, clinic consumables and personnel using a provider (national government) perspective.
The estimated cost of POC TFV was USD $13 per client, assuming a clinic volume of 20 individuals initiating ART per month. The largest component costs of POC TFV testing were the test strip consumables, which accounted for 53% of the test cost. The median total time of a clinic visit with a POC TFV test, starting from client registration, was 49:19 (minutes: seconds) (IQR: 29:19–89:35). TFV testing took 9:22 (IQR: 7:35–14:11), taking up 19% of the total clinic visit time, including sample collection, sample loading, TFV test processing and counselling provision based on test results. Overall, 29% of the clinic visit time included direct clinical care and assessment with a provider, with clients spending a median 14:09 (IQR: 10:35–21:22) getting vitals checked, receiving adherence monitoring via POC TFV testing, and collecting their ART refill. Waiting in line for ART took most (48%) of the clinic visit time.
POC TFV testing can be administered at reasonable costs, requires less than 10 minutes of healthcare provider time, and, therefore, may be feasible to implement in South African clinics. Findings can inform policy and budgetary planning for ART monitoring in South Africa and future cost-effectiveness analyses of POC TFV testing.
NCT04341779
Despite its reversal in July 2019, the World Health Organization warning issued in May 2018 of potential teratogenicity associated with dolutegravir (DTG) may have produced persistent sex disparities in access to DTG. We compared DTG uptake of people with HIV (PWH) by sex in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and its potential impact on virologic outcomes.
We evaluated DTG initiation among antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naïve and -experienced cisgender PWH ≥16 years of age after DTG availability in Brazil (February/2017), Chile (August/2019), Haiti (November/2018) and Honduras (December/2018). Time was divided into pre- (before May/2018), during- (May/2018−July/2019) and post- (after July/2019) warning periods. We examined interactions of sex, age and calendar era with multivariable modified Poisson regression models and Cox proportional hazard models for the outcomes of DTG initiation among ART-naïve and ART-experienced PWH, respectively, and HIV RNA <50 copies/ml in the first year of therapy among ART-naïve PWH, adjusting for site and tuberculosis.
Among 4622 ART-naïve PWH, 3853 (83%) initiated DTG. ART-naïve females aged 16–49 years were less likely to initiate DTG compared to males of the same age both in the pre/during-warning (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR]: 0.75 [95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.71−0.80]) and in the post-warning periods (aPR: 0.97 [95% CI: 0.95−1.00]). Among 16,154 ART-experienced PWH, 9236 (57%) initiated DTG. ART-experienced females 16–49 years were less likely to initiate DTG compared to males of the same age in the pre/during-warning (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]: 0.69 [95% CI: 0.66−0.73]) and post-warning periods (aHR: 0.79 [95% CI: 0.70−0.90]). This sex difference was not observed among older ART-experienced females and males pre/during-warning (aHR: 1.06 [95% CI: 0.99−1.14]). Compared to starting ART without DTG, DTG-based ART use was associated with a higher likelihood of HIV RNA suppression in the first year (aPR = 1.10 [95% CI: 1.04−1.16]). In the post-warning period, females aged 16–49 years had a likelihood of viral suppression similar to males of the same age (aPR: 1.03 [95% CI: 0.96−1.10]), which did not change after adjusting for DTG use (aPR: 1.03 [95% CI: 0.97−1.11]).
Despite the updated guidelines recommending DTG for all PWH, there are persistent sex disparities in the access to DTG in LAC, especially among females wit
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：