QUESTION One of my patients gave birth to a baby later diagnosed with HIV infection. I did not offer this patient HIV screening, as I thought she was at low risk. What are the recommendations for HIV testing and what might be the implications of not screening for HIV? ANSWER Although screening is currently recommended by all relevant authorities in Canada, more than 10% of women are not scree...

The foundation of a family is a personal enterprise with deep biological and emotional motivations. Family life is a no lesser priority for individuals living with HIV than for others. Moreover, the dramatic reduction in HIV-related morbidity and mortality as a consequence of the widespread use of HAART has led to a growing number of HIV-infected individuals and their partners requiring educati...

BACKGROUND Previous studies suggested a high prevalence of STDs including HIV among female sex workers and men who have sex with men in China, but little was known about the prevalence in male patients attending public STD clinics. The aim of this study was to investigate STD patterns and HIV prevalence among male STD clinic attendees in different areas in China and the associated risk factors....

BACKGROUND Considering the high percentage of couples in which one or both members are HIV negative, the frequency of transmission among non-regular partners and the probabilities of non-disclosure, attention should be paid to people getting a negative HIV test at the Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT). Research has shown that a negative HIV test may be followed by a change in sexual behavi...

Unsafe sexual behavior is common among the HIV infected. This exposes them to the risks of unintended pregnancy, HIV transmission to uninfected partners and super-infection. Studies on the use of family planning measures among People Living with HIV (PLHIV) are scarce in Nepal. The aim of this study was to explore the knowledge and practice of family planning (FP) in PLHIV. A cross sectional su...

BACKGROUND Adherence to combination anti-retroviral therapy for HIV infection is a primary determinant of treatment success, but is often suboptimal. Previous studies have suggested that electronic medication monitoring-informed counseling is among the most effective adherence intervention components. Our objective was to review available evidence about the effectiveness of monitoring-informed ...

BACKGROUND In Switzerland, 30% of HIV-infected individuals are diagnosed late. To optimize HIV testing, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) updated 'Provider Induced Counseling and Testing' (PICT) recommendations in 2010. These permit doctors to test patients if HIV infection is suspected, without explicit consent or pre-test counseling; patients should nonetheless be informed that...