Impact of Routine Point-of-Care Versus Laboratory Testing for Early Infant Diagnosis of HIV: Results From a Multicountry Stepped-Wedge Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although the World Health Organization recommends HIV-exposed infants receive a 6-week diagnostic test, few receive results by 12 weeks. Point-of-care (POC) early infant diagnosis (EID) may improve timely diagnosis and treatment. This study assesses the impact of routine POC versus laboratory-based EID on return of results by 12 weeks of age.

Methods

This was a cluster-randomized stepped-wedge trial in Kenya and Zimbabwe. In each country, 18 health facilities were randomly selected for inclusion and randomized to timing of POC implementation.

Findings

Nine thousand five hundred thirty-nine infants received tests: 5115 laboratory-based and 4424 POC. In Kenya and Zimbabwe, respectively, caregivers were 1.29 times [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.27 to 1.30, P

SUBMITTER: Sacks E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7302335 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature