10 research outputs found
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Diagnostic Options for Pneumocystis Pneumonia (PCP)
Diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) is challenging, particularly in developing countries. Highly sensitive diagnostic methods are costly, while less expensive methods often lack sensitivity or specificity. Cost-effectiveness comparisons of the various diagnostic options have not been presented.We compared cost-effectiveness, as measured by cost per life-years gained and proportion of patients successfully diagnosed and treated, of 33 PCP diagnostic options, involving combinations of specimen collection methods [oral washes, induced and expectorated sputum, and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL)] and laboratory diagnostic procedures [various staining procedures or polymerase chain reactions (PCR)], or clinical diagnosis with chest x-ray alone. Our analyses were conducted from the perspective of the government payer among ambulatory, HIV-infected patients with symptoms of pneumonia presenting to HIV clinics and hospitals in South Africa. Costing data were obtained from the National Institutes of Communicable Diseases in South Africa. At 50% disease prevalence, diagnostic procedures involving expectorated sputum with any PCR method, or induced sputum with nested or real-time PCR, were all highly cost-effective, successfully treating 77-90% of patients at 189-232 per life-year gained. A relatively cost-effective diagnostic procedure that did not require PCR was Toluidine Blue O staining of induced sputum (109 per life-year gained) compared with several molecular diagnostic options.For diagnosis of PCP, use of PCR technologies, when combined with less-invasive patient specimens such as expectorated or induced sputum, represent more cost-effective options than any diagnostic procedure using BAL, or chest x-ray alone
Poliomyelitis and the Role of Risk Analysis in Global Infectious Disease Policy and Management
Prospects of eradicating poliomyelitis by 2007: Compulsory vaccination may be a strategy
Review of poliovirus modeling performed from 2000 to 2019 to support global polio eradication
Risks of Paralytic Disease Due to Wild or VaccineâDerived Poliovirus After Eradication
Hiv treatment as prevention: Models, data, and questions-towards evidence-based decision-making
textabstractAntiretroviral therapy (ART) for those infected with HIV can prevent onward transmission of infection, but biological efficacy alone is not enough to guide policy decisions about the role of ART in reducing HIV incidence. Epidemiology, economics, demography, statistics, biology, and mathematical modelling will be central in framing key decisions in the optimal use of ART. PLoS Medicine, with the HIV Modelling Consortium, has commissioned a set of articles that examine different aspects of HIV treatment as prevention with a forward-looking research agenda. Interlocking themes across these articles are discussed in this introduction. We hope that this article, and others in the collection, will provide a foundation upon which greater collaborations between disciplines will be formed, and will afford deeper insights into the key factors involved, to help strengthen the support for evidence-based decision-making in HIV prevention
Enhanced infection prophylaxis reduces mortality in severely immunosuppressed HIV-infected adults and older children initiating antiretroviral therapy in Kenya, Malawi, Uganda and Zimbabwe: the REALITY trial
Meeting abstract FRAB0101LB from 21st International AIDS Conference 18â22 July 2016, Durban, South Africa.
Introduction: Mortality from infections is high in the first 6 months of antiretroviral therapy (ART) among HIVâinfected adults and children with advanced disease in subâSaharan Africa. Whether an enhanced package of infection prophylaxis at ART initiation would reduce mortality is unknown.
Methods:
The REALITY 2Ă2Ă2 factorial openâlabel trial (ISRCTN43622374) randomized ARTânaĂŻve HIVâinfected adults and children >5 years with CD4 <100 cells/mm3. This randomization compared initiating ART with enhanced prophylaxis (continuous cotrimoxazole plus 12 weeks isoniazid/pyridoxine (antiâtuberculosis) and fluconazole (antiâcryptococcal/candida), 5 days azithromycin (antiâbacterial/protozoal) and singleâdose albendazole (antiâhelminth)), versus standardâofâcare cotrimoxazole. Isoniazid/pyridoxine/cotrimoxazole was formulated as a scored fixedâdose combination. Two other randomizations investigated 12âweek adjunctive raltegravir or supplementary food. The primary endpoint was 24âweek mortality.
Results:
1805 eligible adults (n = 1733; 96.0%) and children/adolescents (n = 72; 4.0%) (median 36 years; 53.2% male) were randomized to enhanced (n = 906) or standard prophylaxis (n = 899) and followed for 48 weeks (3.8% lossâtoâfollowâup). Median baseline CD4 was 36 cells/mm3 (IQR: 16â62) but 47.3% were WHO Stage 1/2. 80 (8.9%) enhanced versus 108(12.2%) standard prophylaxis died before 24 weeks (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 0.73 (95% CI: 0.54â0.97) p = 0.03; Figure 1) and 98(11.0%) versus 127(14.4%) respectively died before 48 weeks (aHR = 0.75 (0.58â0.98) p = 0.04), with no evidence of interaction with the two other randomizations (p > 0.8). Enhanced prophylaxis significantly reduced incidence of tuberculosis (p = 0.02), cryptococcal disease (p = 0.01), oral/oesophageal candidiasis (p = 0.02), deaths of unknown cause (p = 0.02) and (marginally) hospitalisations (p = 0.06) but not presumed severe bacterial infections (p = 0.38). Serious and grade 4 adverse events were marginally less common with enhanced prophylaxis (p = 0.06). CD4 increases and VL suppression were similar between groups (p > 0.2).
Conclusions:
Enhanced infection prophylaxis at ART initiation reduces early mortality by 25% among HIVâinfected adults and children with advanced disease. The pill burden did not adversely affect VL suppression. Policy makers should consider adopting and implementing this lowâcost broad infection prevention package which could save 3.3 lives for every 100 individuals treated