Developments in CD4 and Viral Load Monitoring in Resource-Limited Settings

Developments in CD4 and viral load monitoring in resource-limited settings.

CD4 counts and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) load testing are essential components of HIV care, and making these tests available in resource-limited settings is critical to the roll-out of HIV treatment globally. Until recently, the evidence supporting the importance of laboratory monitoring in resource-limited settings was lacking, but there is now a consensus emerging that testing should...

Viral load testing in resource-limited settings.

Viral load monitoring in resource-limited settings: a medical and public health priority.

When antiretroviral therapy (ART) scale up began in Africa a decade ago, there was concern that lack of laboratory monitoring for patients receiving antiretroviral drugs would be an obstacle to providing treatment. To address this concern, the first set of World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for ART in resource-limited settings rightly recommended that programmes should primarily use cli...

Monitoring HIV Viral Load in Resource Limited Settings: Still a Matter of Debate?

INTRODUCTION Consequences of lack of viral monitoring in predicting the effects of development of HIV drug resistance mutations during HAART in resource-limited settings (RLS) is still a matter of debate. DESIGN To assess, among HIV+ patients receiving their first-line HAART, prevalence of virological failure and genotypic resistance mutations pattern in a Médécins Sans Frontières/Ministry of...

Switching to second-line antiretroviral therapy in resource-limited settings: comparison of programmes with and without viral load monitoring.

BACKGROUND In high-income countries, viral load is routinely measured to detect failure of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and guide switching to second-line ART. Viral load monitoring is not generally available in resource-limited settings. We examined switching from nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based first-line regimens to protease inhibitor-based regimens in Africa, Sou...