Page 375 - HIVMED_v21_i1.indb
P. 375

Page 5 of 5  Original Research


              the responsibility of assigning the wellness anniversary and   Disclaimer
              putting the stickers on the files was assigned to the doctors.
              Patients that were transferred from other institutions often   The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of
              did not have detailed transfer letters, and patients could not   the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or
              recall the month they commenced ART. The month of transfer   position of any affiliated agency of the authors.
              ended up being their wellness anniversary. We would
              recommend that assigning the wellness anniversary should   References
              also be flexible to accommodate the patient’s and caregiver’s   1.  Avert. HIV and AIDS in South Africa [homepage on the Internet]. 2018 [cited 2019
              lifestyles such as  avoiding routine monitoring in school-  Mar 01]. Available from: avert.org
              going children during school holiday months. We feel that   2.  UNAIDS.  UNAIDS  data  2018  [homepage  on  the  Internet].  2018  [cited  2019
              these findings are generalisable to other large paediatric and   Mar 01]. Available from: http://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/
                                                                      unaids-data-2018_en.pdf
              adolescent clinics and offer a low-cost strategy to improve   3.  Joint  United  Nations  Programme  on  HIV/AIDS  (UNAIDS).  90-90-90:  An  ambitious
              the VL testing.                                         treatment target to help end the AIDS epidemic [homepage on the Internet]. 2014
                                                                      [cited 2019 Mar 01]. Available from: https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/ 909090
                                                                    4.  Keiser  O,  Chi  BH,  Gsponer  T,  et  al.  Outcomes  of  antiretroviral  treatment  in
              Conclusion                                              programmes with and without routine viral load monitoring in southern Africa.
                                                                      AIDS. 2011;25(14):1761–1769. https://doi.org/10.1097/QAD.0b013e328349822f
                                                                    5.  Committee WAG. Consolidated guidelines on the use of antiretroviral drugs for
              The implementation of the wellness anniversary in the setting   treating  and  preventing  HIV  infection:  Recommendations  for  a  public  health
              of a clinic with a high VL coverage may improve timeliness of   approach–June 2013. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO; 2013.
              VL tests done. Further studies are needed to assess the effects   6.  Lecher S, Ellenberger D, Kim AA, et al. Scale-up of HIV viral load monitoring –
                                                                      Seven  sub-Saharan  African  countries.  Morb  Mortal  Wkly  Rep.  2015;64(46):
              of timely VLs on VLS and clinical outcomes.             1287–1290. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6446a3
                                                                    7.  Roberts T, Cohn J, Bonner K, Hargreaves S. Scale-up of routine viral load testing in
                                                                      resource-poor settings: Current and future implementation challenges. Clin Infect
              Acknowledgements                                        Dis. 2016;62(8):1043–1048. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciw001
                                                                    8.  Kekana  MM,  Cole-Hamilton  S,  Mongwe  MW,  Railton  J,  Peters  RPH.  Quality
              The authors acknowledge Mrs Fikile Nkwanyana,           improvement of the viral load programme in Mopani District. Limpopo Province.
                                                                      HIV Nursing Matters. 2016;8:35–39.
              Biostatistician, University of KwaZulu-Natal, for the   9.  Sunpath H, Hatlen T, Naidu K, et al. Targeting the third ‘90’: Introducing the viral
              contribution to the study.                              load champion. Public Health Action. 2018;8(4):225–231. https://doi.org/ 10.5588/
                                                                      pha.18.0063
                                                                    10. Thomson  KA,  Cheti  EO,  Reid  T.  Implementation  and  outcomes  of  an  active
              Competing interests                                     defaulter tracing system for HIV, prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV
                                                                      (PMTCT), and TB patients in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg.
                                                                      2011;105(6):320–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trstmh.2011.02.011
              The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.   11.  Boerma RS, Boender TS, Bussink AP, et al. Suboptimal viral suppression rates among
                                                                      HIV-infected  children  in  low-and  middle-income  countries:  A  meta-analysis.  Clin
                                                                      Infect Dis. 2016;63(12):1645–1654. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciw645
              Authors’ contributions                                12. May MT, Gompels M, Delpech V, et al. Impact on life expectancy of HIV-1 positive
                                                                      individuals of CD4+ cell count and viral load response to antiretroviral therapy.
              All authors contributed equally to this work.           AIDS (London, England). 2014;28(8):1193. https://doi.org/10.1097/QAD.000000
                                                                      0000000243
                                                                    13. Musoke  PM,  Mudiope  P,  Barlow-Mosha  LN,  et  al.  Growth,  immune  and  viral
              Funding information                                     responses in HIV infected African children receiving highly active antiretroviral
                                                                      therapy:  A  prospective  cohort  study.  BMC  Pediatr.  2010;10(1):56.  https://doi.
                                                                      org/10.1186/1471-2431-10-56
              This project was supported by the President’s Emergency   14. Müller AD, Bode S, Myer L, Stahl J, Von Steinbüchel N. Predictors of adherence to
              Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the US Agency for   antiretroviral treatment and therapeutic success among children in South Africa.
                                                                      AIDS Care. 2011;23(2):129–138. https://doi.org/10.1080/0954012100 3758523
              International Development (USAID) under the cooperative   15. Fatti G, Shaikh N, Eley B, Grimwood A. Improved virological suppression in children
              agreement number AID-674-A-12-00019. The contents are the   on  antiretroviral  treatment  receiving  community-based  adherence  support:
                                                                      A multicentre cohort study from South Africa. AIDS Care. 2014;26(4):448–453.
              sole responsibility  of the authors and do not necessarily   https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2013.855699
              reflect the views of USAID or the US government.      16. Agwu  AL,  Fairlie  L.  Antiretroviral  treatment,  management  challenges  and
                                                                      outcomes in perinatally HIV-infected adolescents. J Int AIDS Soc. 2013;16(1):18579.
                                                                      https://doi.org/10.7448/IAS.16.1.18579
              Data availability statement                           17. Morsheimer M, Dramowski A, Rabie H, Cotton M. Paediatric ART outcomes in a
                                                                      decentralised model of care in Cape Town, South Africa. South Afr J HIV Med.
                                                                      2014;15(4):148–153. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhivmed.v15i4.332
              Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data   18. Meyers  T,  Yoteieng  M,  Kuhn  L,  Moultrie  H.  Antiretroviral  therapy  responses
              were created or analysed in this study.                 among children attending a large public clinic in Soweto, South Africa. Pediatr
                                                                      Infect Dis J. 2011;30(11):974. https://doi.org/10.1097/INF.0b013e318 22539f6


















                                           http://www.sajhivmed.org.za 367  Open Access
   370   371   372   373   374   375   376   377   378   379   380