Lack of practical knowledge among home-based caregivers on human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), anti-retroviral therapy (ART) and poor individual adherence to treatment are among the root causes of ineffective ART service delivery in Namibia. The purpose of our study was to investigate the knowledge among home-based caregivers in Namibia regarding HIV/AID...

Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is being more commonly used in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to potentially reversible illnesses. Survival from ARDS using ECMO has been reported even in patients with AIDS. However, the indications for ECMO for ARDS due to immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) in patients with AIDS are unknown. A...

Decision aids are evidence-based sources of health information that can help patients make informed treatment decisions. However, little is known about how decision aids affect health care use when they are implemented outside of randomized controlled clinical trials. We conducted an observational study to examine the associations between introducing decision aids for hip and knee osteoarthriti...

OBJECTIVE To verify the effectiveness of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and to identify any factors predictive of clinical outcome in a clinical setting. DESIGN Observational study. METHODS Treatment failure (i.e., the occurrence of new or recurrent AIDS-defining events, death or any definitive discontinuation) and the course of CD4+ cell counts and HIV RNA copies were evaluat...

Conjunctival swabs were used in combination with polymerase chain reactions (PCR) or virus culture to aid to confirm the diagnosis of cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis in AIDS patients. Based on ophthalmoscopic findings, 13 AIDS patients were diagnosed as having CMV retinitis and treated with systemic ganciclovir from January 1997 to December 1998. Nine of 13 AIDS patients with CMV retinitis were...

BACKGROUND In recent years there has been changes in the social and geographic profile of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the internalization of AIDS in the state of Rondônia, Brazil. FINDINGS In Rondônia, 1473 AIDS cases were reported, with an average annual incidence of 15.8/100,000 persons (42.7 % women). The most common mode of viral transm...

BACKGROUND Use of antiretroviral treatment for HIV-1 infection has decreased AIDS-related morbidity and mortality and prevents sexual transmission of HIV-1. However, the best time to initiate antiretroviral treatment to reduce progression of HIV-1 infection or non-AIDS clinical events is unknown. We reported previously that early antiretroviral treatment reduced HIV-1 transmission by 96%. We ai...