HIV & AIDS ReviewPub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.5114/hivar.2020.101681
A. Harxhi, E. Vrapi, Arsilda Gjataj, E. Meta, A. Simaku, R. Bani, D. Gökengin, Colette Smith, M. Youle
{"title":"HIV care cascade in Albania: analysis of newly diagnosed cases in 2016","authors":"A. Harxhi, E. Vrapi, Arsilda Gjataj, E. Meta, A. Simaku, R. Bani, D. Gökengin, Colette Smith, M. Youle","doi":"10.5114/hivar.2020.101681","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5114/hivar.2020.101681","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Despite the fact that there has been a steady rise in new infections rate since the first reported case in 1993, Albania remains a low prevalence country. This was the first cascade study for Albania. The aim was to construct a cascade of care for newly human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-diagnosed individuals in 2016 in Albania. Material and methods: This retrospective descriptive study was conducted at the HIV/AIDS Ambulatory Clinic, Infectious Disease Service, University Hospital Centre of Tirana. Medical records of patients diagnosed and enrolled in care in 2016 were retrospectively screened and data on gender, age, HIV clinical stage, CD4+ T cell count, viral load measurement, and treatment history, with antiretroviral treatment (ART) and adherence to treatment were collected. Results: Out of 127 new HIV cases reported, 100 (78.7%) entered care. The median age was 39 years (range, 20-75 years; male, 82%). Seventy one percent started ART within a median of 56 days (range, 1-317 days) from diagnosis, 34 (47.9%) patients received tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine + efavirenz (EFV), and 27 (38%) zidovudine + lamivudine + EFV. Among those who started ART, 19.7% were late presenters and 54.9% were very late presenters. Viral load after initiation of ART was assessed in 25 cases, with 56% of patients achieving an undetectable HIV-RNA. Conclusions: A large proportion of people living with HIV were lost at each step of the cascade. Efforts in Albania should be focused on scaling up HIV testing, promoting adherence to ART, improving access to diagnostics, and better ART regimens as well as proper monitoring of therapy.","PeriodicalId":53943,"journal":{"name":"HIV & AIDS Review","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78316801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
HIV & AIDS ReviewPub Date : 2020-01-01DOI: 10.5114/hivar.2020.101595
M. Zareipour, Ehsan Movahed, R. Sadeghi, Ahmad Sotoudeh, S. Sadeghi, Mahboobe Ameri
{"title":"Evaluation of anthropometric indices, eating habits, and their relationship \u0000with CD4 level in individuals with HIV/AIDS","authors":"M. Zareipour, Ehsan Movahed, R. Sadeghi, Ahmad Sotoudeh, S. Sadeghi, Mahboobe Ameri","doi":"10.5114/hivar.2020.101595","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5114/hivar.2020.101595","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Malnutrition is one of the important and complex complications of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and anthropometry is a valuable clinical indicator in health planning and policy making among HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate anthropometric indices, eating habits, and their association with CD4 in individuals with HIV/AIDS. Material and methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on all individuals with HIV/ AIDS over 20 years of age, who referred to a behavioral diseases counseling center in Iran in 2018. Census sampling method was conducted, and 122 patients were selected. Anthropometric indices were measured using standard methods, and nutritional status questionnaire was used to assess patients’ nutritional status. Results: The mean body mass index in women and men were 25 and 22 kg/m2, respectively. Abdominal obesity was 0.89 and 0.87 cm in female and male patients, respectively. Furthermore, 64% of patients had poor eating habits. Among food groups, consumption of water ( p = 0.05) and carbonated drinks ( p = 0.034) were significantly different between men and women. Among dietary groups, only meat and legumes group had a significant association with CD4 level ( p = 0.047). Conclusions: Although 57% of patients with HIV infection were within normal range, abdominal obesity was higher than standard values, and two thirds of the participants presented poor eating habits. Therefore, nutritional interventions are of great importance in this group of patients.","PeriodicalId":53943,"journal":{"name":"HIV & AIDS Review","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82677049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}