A longitudinal description of incompetent to stand trial admissions to a state hospital.

Objective: Evidence is clear that the nation is experiencing an increasing number of incompetent to stand trial (IST) admissions to state hospitals. As a result, defendants in need of treatment can wait in jail for weeks for admission for restoration. This study was conducted to better understand this growing population and to inform hospital administration about the characteristics of IST admissions.

Barriers and facilitators to linkage to care and ART initiation in the setting of high ART coverage in Botswana.

We conducted a qualitative study using focus groups and in-depth interviews to explore barriers to and facilitators of linkage-to-care and antiretroviral treatment (ART) initiation in Botswana. Participants were selected from communities receiving interventions through the Ya Tsie Study. Fifteen healthcare providers and 49 HIV-positive individuals participated.

Targeted HIV testing at birth supported by low and predictable mother-to-child transmission risk in Botswana.

Introduction: Most African countries perform infant HIV testing at 6 weeks or later. The addition of targeted testing at birth may improve retention in care, treatment outcomes and survival for HIV-infected infants.

Methods: HIV-exposed infants were screened as part of the Early Infant Treatment (EIT) study in Botswana.

Brief Report: High Sensitivity and Specificity of the Cepheid Xpert HIV-1 Qualitative Point-of-Care Test Among Newborns in Botswana.

Background: HIV point-of-care (POC) testing allows for early infant HIV diagnosis and treatment, but POC accuracy at birth and in the setting of antiretroviral prophylaxis for the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission is unknown.

Methods: We evaluated the Cepheid Xpert HIV-1 Qual POC test against the Roche Taqman HIV-1 DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) platform using dried blood spots from 15 HIV-infected and 75 HIV-exposed uninfected newborns. These infants were screened for HIV at <96 hours of life at 5 hospital maternity wards in Botswana; all infants received postexposure antiretroviral prophylaxis with single-dose nevirapine and zidovudine, and most mothers received 3-drug antiretroviral therapy in pregnancy and at delivery.