Continuity of care during severe civil unrest with a model of community-based HIV care: a retrospective cohort study from Haiti.

Background: There are limited data on the effectiveness of differentiated service delivery (DSD) for HIV care during sociopolitical turmoil. We assessed outcomes with a DSD model of care that includes patient choice between community-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) centres, home-based ART dispensing, or facility-based care at GHESKIO clinic during a period of severe civil unrest in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Methods: This retrospective analysis included data on patients with at least one HIV visit at GHESKIO between May 1, 2019, and December 31, 2021.

Potential Utility of C-reactive Protein for Tuberculosis Risk Stratification among Patients with Non-Meningitic Symptoms at HIV Diagnosis in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Article Summary: We assessed the association between C-reactive protein (CRP) and (TB) diagnosis in symptomatic patients at HIV diagnosis. We found that CRP concentrations can improve tuberculosis risk stratification, facilitating decision making about whether (specific) tuberculosis testing is indicated before antiretroviral therapy initiation.

Background: The World Health Organization recommends initiating same-day ART while tuberculosis testing is underway for patients with non-meningitic symptoms at HIV diagnosis, though safety data are limited.

Same-day testing with initiation of antiretroviral therapy or tuberculosis treatment versus standard care for persons presenting with tuberculosis symptoms at HIV diagnosis: A randomized open-label trial from Haiti.

Background: Same-day HIV testing and antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation is being widely implemented. However, the optimal timing of ART among patients with tuberculosis (TB) symptoms is unknown. We hypothesized that same-day treatment (TB treatment for those diagnosed with TB; ART for those not diagnosed with TB) would be superior to standard care in this population.

Association between intimate partner violence and HIV status among Haitian Women.

The prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) among women living in Haiti increased from 25% in 2006-29% in 2012, with escalating reports of crisis in the last several years. We examined the association between IPV and HIV status among these women in Haiti. Participants were drawn from a larger sample of women ( = 513) with a history of IPV.

Mass Spectrometric Identification of Urinary Biomarkers of Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading infectious cause of death worldwide. A major barrier to control of the pandemic is a lack of clinical biomarkers with the ability to distinguish active TB from healthy and sick controls and potential for development into point-of-care diagnostics.

Methods: We conducted a prospective case control study to identify candidate urine-based diagnostic biomarkers of active pulmonary TB (discovery cohort) and obtained a separate blinded "validation" cohort of confirmed cases of active pulmonary TB and controls with non-tuberculous pulmonary disease for validation.

Same-day HIV testing with initiation of antiretroviral therapy versus standard care for persons living with HIV: A randomized unblinded trial.

Background: Attrition during the period from HIV testing to antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation is high worldwide. We assessed whether same-day HIV testing and ART initiation improves retention and virologic suppression.

Methods And Findings: We conducted an unblinded, randomized trial of standard ART initiation versus same-day HIV testing and ART initiation among eligible adults ≥18 years old with World Health Organization Stage 1 or 2 disease and CD4 count ≤500 cells/mm3.