ArticlePloS one2014
Turnaround time for early infant HIV diagnosis in rural Zambia: a chart review.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 84 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cost-effectiveness of point-of-care versus centralised, laboratory-based nucleic acid testing for diagnosis of HIV in infants: a systematic review of modelling studies.The lancet. HIV · 2023Pooled it
- Facilitators and barriers for HIV-testing in Zambia: A systematic review of multi-level factors.PloS one · 2018Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Factors influencing the delivery and uptake of early infant diagnosis of HIV services in Greater Accra, Ghana: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2021Trial
- Timing of antiretroviral treatment initiation and seropositivity to measles virus among children living with HIV in rural Zambia.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Differentiated community-based point-of-care early infant diagnosis to improve HIV diagnosis and ART initiation among infants and young children in Zambia: a quasi-experimental cohort study.BMJ global health · 2025Observational
- Article
- A scoping review on HIV early infant diagnosis among HIV exposed infants, ART use and adherence in Tanzania.BMC infectious diseases · 2023Article
- Factors associated with antiretroviral therapy use among pregnant women in rural and urban settings in Southern Province, Zambia: 2016-2019.Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH · 2022Article
- The NSEBA Demonstration Project: implementation of a point-of-care platform for early infant diagnosis of HIV in rural Zambia.Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH · 2021Article
- Variations in the characteristics and outcomes of children living with HIV following universal ART in sub-Saharan Africa (2006-17): a retrospective cohort study.The lancet. HIV · 2021Article
- Copan eNAT Transport System To Address Challenges in COVID-19 Diagnostics in Regions with Limited Testing Access.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2021Article
- Point-of-care p24 antigen detection for early infant diagnosis of HIV infection: cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in Zambia.BMC infectious diseases · 2021Article
- The cost-effectiveness of scaling-up rapid point-of-care testing for early infant diagnosis of HIV in southern Zambia.PloS one · 2021Article
- Birth Testing for Infant HIV Diagnosis in Eswatini: Implementation Experience and Uptake Among Women Living With HIV in Manzini Region.The Pediatric infectious disease journal · 2020Article
- Barriers to early infant diagnosis of HIV in the Wa Municipality and Lawra District of Upper West Region, Ghana.Ghana medical journal · 2020Article
- Acceptability and feasibility of testing for HIV infection at birth and linkage to care in rural and urban Zambia: a cross-sectional study.BMC infectious diseases · 2020Article
- Tracking Progress Toward Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV in Zambia: Findings from the Early Infant Diagnosis of HIV Program (2009-2017).Journal of tropical pediatrics · 2020Article
- Infrastructural and human-resource factors associated with return of infant HIV test results to caregivers: secondary analysis of a nationally representative situational assessment, South Africa, 2010.BMC infectious diseases · 2019Article
- Supporting Diagnosis and Management of HIV/AIDS Patients Through Point-of-Care Technology Development.Current opinion in biomedical engineering · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundEarly infant HIV diagnosis is challenging in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in rural areas where laboratory capacity is limited. Specimens must be transported to central laboratories for testing, leading to delays in diagnosis and initiation of antiretroviral therapy. This study was undertaken in rural Zambia to measure the turnaround time for confirmation of HIV infection and identify delays in diagnosis.
methodsChart reviews were conducted from 2010-2012 for children undergoing early infant HIV diagnosis at Macha Hospital in Zambia. Relevant dates, receipt of drugs by mother and child for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), and test results were abstracted.
results403 infants provided 476 samples for early infant diagnosis. The median age at the "6-week" and "6-month" assessments was 8.1 weeks and 7.0 months, respectively. The majority of mothers (80%) and infants (67%) received PMTCT. The median time between sample collection and arrival at the central laboratory in Lusaka was 17 days (IQR: 10, 28); arrival at the central laboratory to testing was 6 days (IQR: 5, 11); testing to return of results to the clinic was 29 days (IQR: 17, 36); arrival of results at the clinic to return of results to the caregiver was 45 days (IQR: 24, 79). The total median time from sample collection to return of results to the caregiver was 92 days (IQR: 84, 145). The proportion of HIV PCR positive samples was 12%. The total median turnaround time was shorter for HIV PCR positive as compared to negative or invalid samples (85 vs. 92 days; p = 0.08).
conclusionsDelays in processing and communicating test results were identified, particularly in returning results from the central laboratory to the clinic and from the clinic to the caregiver. A more efficient process is needed so that caregivers can be provided test results more rapidly, potentially resulting in earlier treatment initiation and better outcomes for HIV-infected infants.
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