ArticlePloS one2016
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.
Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Performance of the BD-FACS Presto for CD4 count and hemoglobin measurement in a district hospital and rural laboratory in Ghana.PloS one · 2019Trial
- Improved detection and management of advanced HIV disease through a community adult TB-contact tracing intervention with same-day provision of the WHO-recommended package of care including ART initiation in a rural district of Mozambique.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2021Article
- Predictors of antiretroviral therapy initiation in eThekwini (Durban), South Africa: Findings from a prospective cohort study.PloS one · 2021Article
- HIV treatment outcomes among people with initiation CD4 counts >500 cells/µL after implementation of Treat All in South African public clinics: a retrospective cohort study.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2020Article
- Article
- Social Support and Violence-prone Relationships as Predictors of Disclosure of HIV Status Among Newly Diagnosed HIV-positive South Africans.AIDS and behavior · 2018Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTimely 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.
methodsIndividuals (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 three structured assessments. Linkage to care, defined as returning to clinic for CD4+ count results, and day-of-diagnosis blood draw were self-reported.
resultsOverall, 72.5% did not have a day-of-diagnosis CD4+ count blood draw, and 19.2% of these never returned. Compared with a day-of-diagnosis blood draw, the adjusted hazard ratio of linkage (AHRlinkage) associated with not having day-of-diagnosis blood draw was 0.66 (95%CI: 0.51, 0.85). By 4 months, 54.8% of those without day-of-diagnosis blood draw vs. 75.2% with one were linked to care (chi-squared p = 0.004). Of those who deferred blood draw, 48.3% cited clinic-related and 51.7% cited personal reasons. AHRlinkage was 0.60 (95%CI: 0.44, 0.82) for clinic-related and 0.53 (95%CI: 0.38, 0.75) for personal reasons relative to having day-of-diagnosis blood draw.
conclusionsNewly-diagnosed HIV+ individuals who did not undergo CD4+ count blood draw on the day they were diagnosed-regardless of the reason for deferring-had delayed linkage to care relative to those with same-day blood draw. To enhance prompt linkage to care even when test and treat protocols are implemented, all diagnostic testing required before ART initiation should be performed on the same day as HIV testing/diagnosis. This may require modifying clinic procedures to enable overnight blood storage if same-day draws cannot be performed, and providing additional counseling to encourage newly-diagnosed individuals to complete day-of-diagnosis testing. Tracking HIV+ individuals via clinic registries should commence immediately from diagnosis to reduce these early losses to care.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.