ArticlePloS one2018
Viral load testing and the use of test results for clinical decision making for HIV treatment in Cameroon: An insight into the clinic-laboratory interface.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 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
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Virologic failure and its determinants among HIV patients progress towards the third 95% global target in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Pooled it
- The viral load monitoring cascade in HIV treatment programmes in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2024Pooled it
- Depression management and antiretroviral treatment outcome among people living with HIV in Northwest and East regions of Cameroon.BMC infectious diseases · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Trends and correlates in HIV viral load monitoring and viral suppression among adolescents and young adults in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH · 2024Article
- Changes in access to viral load testing, incidence rates of viral load suppression and rebound following the introduction of the 'universal test and treat' guidelines in Cameroon: A retrospective follow-up analysis.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Near point-of-care HIV viral load testing: Cascade after high viral load in suburban Yangon, Myanmar.PloS one · 2023Article
- Patient reported experience measures on HIV viral load testing at public health facilities in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: A convergent mixed method study.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Virological failure and treatment switch after ART initiation among people living with HIV with and without routine viral load monitoring in Asia.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2022Article
- Adherence to viral load testing guidelines, barriers, and associated factors among persons living with HIV on ART in Southwestern Uganda: a mixed-methods study.BMC public health · 2022Article
- A New Specimen for Syphilis Diagnosis: Evidence by High Loads of Treponema pallidum DNA in Saliva.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2021Article
- Observational
- Access to HIV Viral Load Testing and Antiretroviral Therapy Switch Practices: A Multicountry Prospective Cohort Study in Sub-Saharan Africa.AIDS research and human retroviruses · 2020Article
- Non-uptake of viral load testing among people receiving HIV treatment in Gomba district, rural Uganda.BMC infectious diseases · 2020Article
- Current Status Towards 90-90-90 UNAIDS Target and Factors Associated with HIV Viral Load Suppression in Kediri City, Indonesia.HIV/AIDS (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2020Article
- Monitoring HIV infection in Minas Gerais state: 15-year assessment of adults living with HIV initiating Antiretroviral Therapy.Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical · 2020Article
- Article
- Extending Visit Intervals for Clinically Stable Patients on Antiretroviral Therapy: Multicohort Analysis of HIV Programs in Southern Africa.Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2019Article
- The missed potential of CD4 and viral load testing to improve clinical outcomes for people living with HIV in lower-resource settings.PLoS medicine · 2019Article
- Viral load testing among women on 'option B+' in Mazowe, Zimbabwe: How well are we doing?PloS one · 2019Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
backgroundThe viral load (VL) in patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the best predictor of treatment outcome. The anticipated benefits of VL monitoring depend on the actual uptake of VL test results for clinical decisions. The objective of this study was to assess the uptake and utilization of VL test results for clinical decisions on HIV treatment in Cameroon, from 2013 to 2017.
methodsThis was a retrospective cohort analysis of data from files of patients receiving ART at Buea, Limbe, Bamenda and Bafoussam regional hospital HIV treatment centers. A simple random pick of six file blocks was performed in each shelf that corresponded to a year of initiation, and the contents of all selected files were reviewed and the information needed for the study entered a structured questionnaire. The data collected was recorded in Epi Info (version 7.1.5.2), and analyzed using SATA (version 12.1; StataCorp LP).
resultsEight hundred and thirty files were reviewed. The mean duration on ART was 39.4±12 months. Viral load testing uptake was 24.33% and only one VL test had been done by all patients. Approximately 65% of the patients did the first VL after more than 24 months on ART. The median turnaround (TAT) time for VL testing was 6 days (Interquartile range (IQR) 3-7days). Among 201 patients who did a VL test, 94.55% had VL suppression (≤1000copies/mm3). Approximately 54% of the patients with virologic failure were switched to a second-line regimen.
conclusionsThe uptake of viral load testing is low in North West, South West and West Regions of Cameroon. The current TAT for VL testing is plausible. The rate of switch to second line regimen is low. It is time to strengthen the scale up of VL testing and improve the rate of switch to second-line regimen in Cameroon.
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