Immediate Blood Draw for CD4+ Cell Count Is Associated with Linkage to Care in Durban, South Africa: Findings from Pathways to Engagement in HIV Care.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Timely linkage to care by newly-diagnosed HIV+ individuals remains a significant challenge to achieving UNAIDS 90-90-90 goals. Current World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines recommend initiating anti-retroviral treatment (ART) regardless of CD4+ count, with priority given to those with CD4+ <350 cells/μl. We evaluated the impact of not having a day-of-diagnosis CD4+ count blood draw, as recommended by South African guidelines, on time to linkage, using data from a prospective cohort study.

Methods

Individuals (N = 2773) were interviewed prior to HIV counseling and testing at three public sector primary care clinics in the greater Durban area; 785 were newly-diagnosed and eligible for the cohort study; 459 (58.5%) joined and were followed for eight months with

SUBMITTER: Hoffman S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5051894 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature