Publications by authors named "Mitesh A Desai"
Article Synopsis
- A study analyzed the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis (BV) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among 463 Kenyan women aged 18–34 who participated in a contraceptive study, finding that 72.2% tested positive for either or both.
- Key findings included a 55.6% prevalence of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) and significant associations between having STIs/BV and factors like younger age at first sex and multiple sexual partners.
- The researchers suggested implementing combination prevention strategies tailored to women’s varying risk factors to reduce the prevalence of STIs and BV in this population.
Article Synopsis
- A study was conducted to explore the factors affecting non-adherence to contraceptive vaginal rings (CVR) among sexually active women aged 18-34 in Kenya, focusing on user dissatisfaction, tolerability, and socio-economic factors.
- Out of 202 participants, 14.0% reported non-adherence, but pharmacy records indicated a much higher rate of 54.5%, highlighting discrepancies in self-reported vs. actual adherence.
- The study found that women with salary-based income had lower non-adherence rates, and those dissatisfied with more aspects of the CVR were significantly more likely to not adhere to its use.
Background: HIV disease staging with referral laboratory-based CD4 cell count testing is a key barrier to the initiation of antiretroviral treatment (ART). Point-of-care CD4 cell counts can improve linkage to HIV care among people living with HIV, but its effect has not been assessed with a randomised controlled trial in the context of home-based HIV counselling and testing (HBCT).
Methods: We did a two-arm, cluster-randomised, controlled efficacy trial in two districts of western Kenya with ongoing HBCT.
Background: CD4+ T-lymphocyte count testing at the point-of-care (POC) may improve linkage to care of persons diagnosed with HIV-1 infection, but the accuracy of POC devices when operated by lay-counselors in the era of task-shifting is unknown. We examined the accuracy of Alere's Pima™ POC device on both capillary and venous blood when performed by lay-counselors and laboratory technicians.
Methods: In Phase I, we compared the perfomance of POC against FACSCalibur™ for 280 venous specimens by laboratory technicians.
Objective: This article reviews the antiretroviral therapy (ART)initiation criteria from national treatment guidelines for 70 countries and determines the extent of consistency with the current World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.
Methods: Published ART guidelines were collected from the Internet, databases, and WHO staff. ART eligibility criteria for asymptomatic people, pregnant women, people with HIV-associated tuberculosis, serodiscordant couples, injecting drug users, men who have sex with men, and sex workers were abstracted from them.