Treatment interventions for diarrhoea in HIV-infected and HIV-exposed children: a systematic review.

Introduction: Seventy percent of an estimated 10 million children less than five years of age in developing countries die each year of acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea, measles, malaria, malnutrition or a combination of these conditions. Children living with Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are at risk of diarrhoea because of drug interactions with antiretroviral therapy and bottle feeding. This may be aggravated by malnutrition and other infectious diseases which are frequent in children living with HIV.

Prevention of diarrhoea in children with HIV infection or exposure to maternal HIV infection.

Background: Diarrhoea is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among infants and children worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a condition that similarly disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries; of the nearly 2.1 million children under age 15 years living with HIV/AIDS, the large majority reside in sub-Saharan Africa.

Antiretroviral regimens for patients with HIV who fail first-line antiretroviral therapy.

Background: Highly active antiretroviral therapy has reduced the morbidity and mortality of patients with HIV/AIDS. A common first-line ART regimen in low-resource settings includes a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) and two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs). If treatment failure occurs, a change to second-line therapy is necessary.

Optimal monitoring strategies for guiding when to switch first-line antiretroviral therapy regimens for treatment failure in adults and adolescents living with HIV in low-resource settings.

Background: One of the critical clinical decisions made in antiretroviral therapy (ART) is when to switch from an initial regimen to another due to treatment failure. This complex process requires consideration of multiple factors including: (1) what type of monitoring (e.g.