Rapid initiation of antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite antiretroviral therapy (ART) being widely available, HIV continues to cause substantial illness and premature death in low-and-middle-income countries. High rates of loss to follow-up after HIV diagnosis can delay people starting ART. Starting ART within seven days of HIV diagnosis (rapid ART initiation) could reduce loss to follow-up, improve virological suppression rates, and reduce mortality.

Objectives

To assess the effects of interventions for rapid initiation of ART (defined as offering ART within seven days of HIV diagnosis) on treatment outcomes and mortality in people living with HIV. We also aimed to describe the characteristics of rapid ART interventions used in the included studies.

Search methods

We searched CENTRAL, the Cochrane Databa

SUBMITTER: Mateo-Urdiales A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6575156 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature