Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32042610›Full record

ArticlePublic health action2019

Successful establishment of third-line antiretroviral therapy in Malawi: lessons learned.

T Heller, P Ganesh, J Gumulira, L Nkhoma, C Chipingu, C Kanyama, T Kalua, R Nyrienda, S Phiri, A Schooley

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Public health action, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.1field-weighted citation impact, top 46% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. An audit of the HIV drug resistance testing program in Malawi.Malawi medical journal : the journal of Medical Association of Malawi · 2025
    Article
  2. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

T HellerLighthouse Trust, Lilongwe, Malawi.
P GaneshLighthouse Trust, Lilongwe, Malawi.
J GumuliraLighthouse Trust, Lilongwe, Malawi.
L NkhomaLighthouse Trust, Lilongwe, Malawi.
C ChipinguPartners in Hope Medical Centre, Lilongwe, Malawi.
C KanyamaUniversity of North Carolina Project, Lilongwe, Malawi.
T KaluaDepartment of HIV and AIDS, Ministry of Health, Lilongwe, Malawi.
R NyriendaDepartment of HIV and AIDS, Ministry of Health, Lilongwe, Malawi.
S PhiriLighthouse Trust, Lilongwe, Malawi.
A SchooleyPartners in Hope Medical Centre, Lilongwe, Malawi.
Lighthouse Trust · MWMinistry of Health · MWUniversity of California, Los Angeles · USUniversity of Malawi · MW

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

settingMalawi has an extensive national antiretroviral treatment (ART) program, and although less than 2% of all patients receive second-line ART, there are increasingly more patients failing on these regimens.

objectiveTo establish a virtual ART committee using limited available local facilities and expertise to recommend third-line regimens based on genotype resistance of samples sent abroad.

designA secretariat and a laboratory sample hub were established. The committee started work after locally organizing training courses. Decisions about ART regimens were mainly based on a relatively simple, previously described algorithm, which allowed decisions to be taken without extensive expert knowledge.

resultsOf the 25 applications assessed, 23 samples were sent for resistance testing from June 2017 to April 2018. Major protease inhibitor (PI) resistance was detected in 65% of the samples. PI resistance was found even in patients exposed to PIs for short periods. In particular, patients who received co-administration of PIs and rifampicin frequently showed resistance mutations.

conclusionThird-line ART using genotypic resistance testing and algorithm-based treatment regimens are feasible in low-resource settings. Our model can serve as a base for similar programs initiating programmatic third-line ART in other African countries.

Indexed as

HIVprotease inhibitor resistanceresource-limited settingtreatment failure

Identifiers

PMID32042610
PMCPMC6945740
OpenAlexW3000721447

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

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.