Predicting, Diagnosing, and Treating Acute and Early HIV Infection in a Public Sector Facility in Eswatini.

Background: The lack of acute and early HIV infection (AEHI) diagnosis and care contributes to high HIV incidence in resource-limited settings. We aimed to assess the yield of AEHI, predict and diagnose AEHI, and describe AEHI care outcomes in a public sector setting in Eswatini.

Setting: This study was conducted in Nhlangano outpatient department from March 2019 to March 2020.

Outcomes of AIDS-associated Kaposi sarcoma in Mozambique after treatment with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin.

Background: Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a common HIV-associated malignancy frequently associated with poor outcomes. It is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in major cities of Mozambique. Antiretroviral therapy is the cornerstone of KS treatment, but many patients require cytotoxic chemotherapy.

Systematic, Point-of-Care Urine Lipoarabinomannan (Alere TB-LAM) Assay for Diagnosing Tuberculosis in Severely Immunocompromised HIV-Positive Ambulatory Patients.

Point-of-care urine-lipoarabinomannan (LAM) Alere Determine TB-LAM assay has shown utility diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) in HIV-positive, severely immunocompromised, TB-symptomatic patients. We assessed LAM results in severely immunocompromised patients, who had LAM systematically performed at new or follow-up HIV consultations. This was a prospective, observational study on consecutive ambulatory, > 15-year-old HIV-positive patients with CD4 < 100 cells/µL in Mozambique.

Successful expansion of community-based drug-resistant TB care in rural Eswatini - a retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: Provision of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) treatment is scarce in resource-limited settings. We assessed the feasibility of ambulatory DR-TB care for treatment expansion in rural Eswatini.

Methods: Retrospective patient-level data were used to evaluate ambulatory DR-TB treatment provision in rural Shiselweni (Eswatini), from 2008 to 2016.

Decreased risk of HIV-associated TB during antiretroviral therapy expansion in rural Eswatini from 2009 to 2016: a cohort and population-based analysis.

Objectives: This paper assesses patient- and population-level trends in TB notifications during rapid expansion of antiretroviral therapy in Eswatini which has an extremely high incidence of both TB and HIV.

Methods: Patient- and population-level predictors and rates of HIV-associated TB were examined in the Shiselweni region in Eswatini from 2009 to 2016. Annual population-level denominators obtained from projected census data and prevalence estimates obtained from population-based surveys were combined with individual-level TB treatment data.

Diagnostic value of the urine lipoarabinomannan assay in HIV-positive, ambulatory patients with CD4 below 200 cells/μl in 2 low-resource settings: A prospective observational study.

Background: Current guidelines recommend the use of the lateral flow urine lipoarabinomannan assay (LAM) in HIV-positive, ambulatory patients with signs and symptoms of tuberculosis (TB) only if they are seriously ill or have CD4 count ≤ 100 cells/μl. We assessed the diagnostic yield of including LAM in TB diagnostic algorithms in HIV-positive, ambulatory patients with CD4 < 200 cells/μl, as well as the risk of mortality in LAM-positive patients who were not diagnosed using other diagnostic tools and not treated for TB.

Methods And Findings: We conducted a prospective observational study including HIV-positive adult patients with signs and symptoms of TB and CD4 < 200 cells/μl attending 6 health facilities in Malawi and Mozambique.

Programmatic outcomes and impact of rapid public sector antiretroviral therapy expansion in adults prior to introduction of the WHO treat-all approach in rural Eswatini.

Objectives: To assess long-term antiretroviral therapy (ART) outcomes during rapid HIV programme expansion in the public sector of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland).

Methods: This is a retrospectively established cohort of HIV-positive adults (≥16 years) who started first-line ART in 25 health facilities in Shiselweni (Eswatini) between 01/2006 and 12/2014. Temporal trends in ART attrition, treatment expansion and ART coverage were described over 9 years.

Treatment Outcomes of Patients Switching From an Injectable Drug to Bedaquiline During Short Standardized Treatment for Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis in Mozambique.

Bedaquiline was recommended by the World Health Organization as the preferred option in treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) with long regimens. However, no recommendation was given for the short MDR-TB regimen. Data from our small cohort of patients who switched from injectable drug to bedaquiline suggest that a bedaquiline-based short regimen is effective and safe.

Outcomes of HIV-infected versus HIV-non-infected patients treated for drug-resistance tuberculosis: Multicenter cohort study.

Background: The emergence of resistance to anti-tuberculosis (DR-TB) drugs and the HIV epidemic represent a serious threat for reducing the global burden of TB. Although data on HIV-negative DR-TB treatment outcomes are well published, few data on DR-TB outcomes among HIV co-infected people is available despite the great public health importance.

Methods: We retrospectively reported and compared the DR-TB treatment outcomes of HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients treated with an individualized regimen based on WHO guidelines in seven countries: Abkhazia, Armenia, Colombia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Swaziland and Uzbekistan.