Integration of antenatal syphilis screening in an urban HIV clinic: a feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: Syphilis infection during pregnancy leads to avoidable morbidity and mortality and remains a significant problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite global initiatives to increase the proportion of pregnant women screened, implementation has been slow. We sought to investigate the feasibility of adding syphilis screening within an integrated antenatal HIV clinic. METHODS: Pregnant women attending the HIV antenatal clinic were sequentially enrolled and consenting participants answered a questionnaire on sexual behavior and previous pregnancies, provided sociodemographic data, and were tested using rapid plasmin reagin (RPR). If positive, participants were treated with benzathine penicillin. All were given a partner notification slip and were followed up after delivery to determine birth outcomes. RESULTS: 584 of 606 (95.7%) women approached and consented to test for syphilis. 570 women were enrolled (median age 29 (IQR 25-32) with a median (IQR) CD4 of 372 (257-569) cells/μL). Of the 5.1% (29/570) with a positive RPR, all were asymptomatic, were successfully contacted, and treated with benzathine penicillin without adverse reactions. Overall, 61 (12.1%) of the participants had an adverse birth outcome. In the bivariate analysis, only age was significantly different between those with and without a positive RPR (RR = 1.15, 95% CI 1.065-1.248; p < 0.001). Partners of only 10 (34.5%) participants returned for treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Structural interventions such as opt-out testing for syphilis within integrated HIV-antenatal care clinics are feasible and capitalize on the excellent care programs that have already been established for HIV care. Novel approaches are required for partner notification

Preventing Cryptococcosis-Shifting the Paradigm in the Era of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy.

Cryptococcosis remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among HIV-infected patients, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where it causes up to 20 % of AIDS-related deaths in HIV programs. A new, highly sensitive, and affordable point of care diagnostic test for cryptococcal infection, the lateral flow assay, can detect early sub-clinical cryptococcosis especially in areas with limited laboratory infrastructure. With a prevalence of detectable sub-clinical cryptococcal infection averaging 7.2 % (95 % CI 6.8-7.6 %) among 36 cohorts with CD4 <100 cells/μL in Africa, together with data showing that preemptive fluconazole prevents overt cryptococcal disease in this population, implementing a screen and treat strategy as part of HIV care practice among patients with CD4 <100 cells/μL could prevent the incidence of often fatal cryptococcal meningitis in the setting of the HIV pandemic

Evaluation of a point-of-care immunoassay test kit ‘StrongStep’ for cryptococcal antigen detection

<div><p>Background</p><p>HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis is the leading cause of adult meningitis in Sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 15%–20% of AIDS-attributable mortality. The development of point-of-care assays has greatly improved the screening and diagnosis of cryptococcal disease. We evaluated a point-of-care immunoassay, StrongStep (Liming Bio, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China) lateral flow assay (LFA), for cryptococcal antigen (CrAg) detection in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma.</p><p>Methods</p><p>We retrospectively tested 143 CSF and 77 plasma samples collected from HIV-seropositive individuals with suspected meningitis from 2012–2016 in Uganda. We prospectively tested 90 plasma samples collected from HIV-seropositive individuals with CD4 cell count <100 cells/μL from 2016–2017 as part of a cryptococcal antigenemia screening program. The StrongStep CrAg was tested against a composite reference standard of positive Immy CrAg LFA (Immy, Norman, OK, USA) or CSF culture with statistical comparison by McNemar’s test.</p><p>Results</p><p>StrongStep CrAg had a 98% (54/55) sensitivity and 90% (101/112) specificity in plasma (<i>P</i> = 0.009, versus reference standard). In CSF, the StrongStep CrAg had 100% (101/101) sensitivity and 98% (41/42) specificity (<i>P</i> = 0.99). Adjusting for the cryptococcal antigenemia prevalence of 9% in Uganda and average cryptococcal meningitis prevalence of 37% in Sub-Saharan Africa, the positive predictive value of the StrongStep CrAg was 50% in plasma and 96% in CSF.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>We found the StrongStep CrAg LFA to be a sensitive assay, which unfortunately lacked specificity in plasma. In lower prevalence settings, a majority of positive results from blood would be expected to be false positives.</p></div

Characteristics of CSF and Plasma specimens misclassified by the StrongStep LFA.

<p>Characteristics of CSF and Plasma specimens misclassified by the StrongStep LFA.</p