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Este artículo presenta el resultado de la experiencia desarrollada mediante el uso de la plataforma web FISLAB orientada a los fenómenos de la Física Experimental Virtual vinculado a las diferentes ramas de la ciencia, se advierten la viabilidad del software y se analiza el impacto de su implementación en el proceso de enseñanza / aprendizaje de los estudiantes de la materia de Física, pertenecientes a la Facultad de Filosofía Letras y Ciencias de la Educación de la Universidad Central del Ecuador. Se cotejaron las evaluaciones de las notas obtenidas del Semestre PRESENCIAL 2019 – 2020 y del semestre VIRTUAL 2020 - 2020, durante el cual se utilizó la aplicación como soporte, y se manejaron estrategias iguales tanto en el grupo de control como en el grupo experimental, pero sin el uso del software. Se analizó una prueba estadística que arrojó una diferencia relevante del 12 % entre las medias de las calificaciones de los dos grupos la cual mostró un incremento en el rendimiento académico.

El presente proyecto se basa en un estudio que se ha realizado en campo durante los últimos 10 años aproximadamente, trabajando en lo que es suelda eléctrica en la cual se ha visto y sentido las varias dificultades con las cuales se encuentran toda persona que desea aprender cómo se ejecuta la suelda eléctrica, la misma que se ha plasmado en una herramienta digital, un APK, que servirá como una aplicación que mejorará las habilidades del usuario como es el control mano vista que involucra los dos sentidos más necesarios para poder ejecutar este oficio de suelda eléctrica, ya que esta aplicación funciona de una manera virtual y gratuita, con la cual ya no se tendrá la necesidad de abandonar trabajos u ocupaciones que estén realizando independientemente de su género, condición económica o social, para que pueda aprender y desarrollar una motricidad muy buena y un equilibrio excelente. La aplicación el APK lo que hace es solo dar un buen adiestramiento en el tema de equilibrio y de control Mano/Vista, de allí las normas y reglamentos de seguridad, sean estos internos de una empresa X o de manera personal, ya se los debe saber de antemano ya que es un oficio en el cual está sujeto a graves lecciones físicas. Esto conlleva a realizar un estudio en paralelo de las normas y códigos de seguridad, con lo cual ya se podrá sobrellevar este tipo de trabajo cuando se presente alguna oportunidad de trabajo de suelda eléctrica. The present project is based on a study that has been carried out in the field for the last 10 years approximately, working on what is an electric solder in which the various difficulties encountered by anyone who wants to learn how to be seen and felt the electric solder is executed, the same one that has been translated into a digital tool, an APK, which will serve as an application that will improve the user's skills such as hand-held control that involves the two most necessary senses to be able to execute this job. electric solder, since this application works in a virtual and free way, with which you will no longer have the need to leave jobs or occupations that are being done regardless of gender, economic or social condition, so you can learn and develop a motor very good and an excellent balance. The application APK what it does is just give a good training in the issue of balance and control Mano / Vista, hence the rules and regulations of security, whether these internal X company or personally, you owe them Know in advance as it is a trade in which is subject to serious physical lessons. This leads to a study in parallel of the rules and safety codes, which can already cope with this type of work when there is any opportunity to work with electric welding.

The construction of the recreational complex is located in the Urcuquí Canton, Province of Imbabura, this undertaking contributes to the strengthening of tourism and economic of the country, providing a high quality service that guarantees the welfare and satisfaction of the tourist; The size of the probabilistic sample is established in 384 people of the provincial population; Descriptive methods, qualitative and quantitative establishes the techniques for surveying clients and interviewing local owners, in addition the method of observation establishes aspects of the behavior of the competition; The statistical analysis of EXCEL determines the projection of the demand, the linear equation, the correlation and the multifactorial analysis; The market, technical and organizational studies combined with the results obtained from the financial study and economic evaluation such as the NPV, IRR, B/C, Balance Point and Recovery Period applied conclude to be positive, which guarantees the feasibility and profitability of the project.

El trabajo investigativo está enfocado en el análisis de cómo el movimiento social Gays, Lesbianas, Bisexuales, Trans e Intersexuales (GLBTI) enmarca su lucha política a través de los medios de comunicación, a propósito del matrimonio civil igualitario en el Ecuador. Si bien existen estudios del GLBTI en la cotidianidad, espacios políticos, espacios virtuales, creo que es conveniente tomar en cuenta la construcción de la persona GLBTI en los medios de comunicación, esto permitirá un análisis de cómo los grupos socialmente catalogados como débiles, en base a estrategias de comunicación, logran posicionar sus ideas políticas en los mass media a través de la acción colectiva complementada con un trabajo en plataformas virtuales como en Twitter.

OBJETIVO: Analisar o comportamento hemodinâmico do coração na revascularização do miocárdio sem a utilização da circulação extracorpórea, através da cateterização da artéria pulmonar com cateter de San-Ganz. MATERIAL E MÉTODOS: No período de agosto de 1991 a junho de 1999, foram operados 616 pacientes portadores de angina do peito, que foram submetidos a revascularização do miocárdio sem a utilização da circulação extracorpórea. Em 18 pacientes foram estudados os parâmetros hemodinâmicos intra-operatórios. RESULTADOS: A freqüência cardíaca manteve-se elevada durante todos os momentos de posicionamento do coração (p=0,0007). O débito cardíaco ao longo do procedimento apresentou variação mínima nos diversos momentos de posicionamento do coração e exposição das artérias coronárias. Entretanto, com o coração na posição normal final, observou-se um aumento importante do débito cardíaco (p=0,010). A pressão arterial média apresentou-se diminuída em todos os momentos do procedimento de exposição das artérias coronárias (p=0,022). A pressão arterial pulmonar apresentou-se diminuída durante todos os momentos de mobilização (NS). A pressão capilar pulmonar oscilou bastante durante a exposição das coronárias (NS). A pressão venosa central comportou-se de maneira mais variada durante a exposição das artérias (NS). A resistência vascular sistêmica apresentou-se diminuída durante todo o procedimento (p=0,0001). A resistência vascular pulmonar apresentou-se diminuída em todos os momentos do procedimento (p=0,002). O "stroke volume" apresentou-se inalterado durante a anastomose da interventricular anterior e só se observaram diferenças estatísticas na coronária direita (p=0,002) e artéria circunflexa (p=0,0006) e seus ramos. O índice cardíaco apresentou-se diminuído durante o procedimento (p=0,0011). CONCLUSÕES: A) A técnica presente permite a mobilização máxima do coração sem indução de instabilidade hemodinâmica. B) A melhora de alguns parâmetros de hemodinâmica ao final do procedimento pode ser justificada: 1) devido à resposta à revascularização miocárdica; 2) decorrente da liberação de catecolaminas após a manipulação do coração nas diversas posições; 3) decorrente da liberação de mediadores vasoativos depois da tração prolongada do pericárdio. BACKGROUND: To analyze the hemodynamic behavior of the heart in revascularization of the myocardium without use of extracorporeal circulation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From August 1991 to June 1999, 616 patients suffering from angina of the chest underwent revascularization of the myocardium without use of extracorporeal circulation. In 18 patients the intraoperative hemodynamic parameters were studied. RESULTS: Heart rate remained high at all times during positioning of the heart (p=0.0007). Cardiac output throughout the procedure presented a very slight variation at different moments of positioning of the heart and exposure of the coronary arteries. However, once the heart was in its final normal position a major increase in output was noted (p=0.010). Mean blood pressure was found to be decreased throughout the procedure for exposing the coronary arteries (p=0.022). Arterial pulmonary pressure proved to be reduced at all times during mobilization, but without statistical significance. Pulmonary capillary pressure showed considerable, but statistically insignificant variation during exposure of the arteries. Central venous pressure behaved in a more varied fashion during exposure of the arteries, but again without statistical significance. Systemic vascular resistance proved to be diminished throughout the procedure (p=0.0001). Pulmonary vascular resistance remained reduced at all times during the procedure (p=0.002). Stroke volume was unchanged during anastomosis of the anterior interventricular artery and statistically significant differences were observed only in the right coronary (p=0.002) and right circumflex (p=0.0006) artery and its branches. The cardiac index was shown to be diminished throughout the procedure (p=0.0011). CONCLUSIONS: A) The present technique allows for maximum mobilization of the heart without inducing hemodynamic instability. B) The improvement of a number of hemodynamic parameters at the end of the procedure may be accounted for by: (1) the response to the myocardial revascularization; (2) the release of catecholamines following manipulation of the heart in the different positions and (3) the release of vasoactive mediators following prolonged traction of the pericardium.

La necesidad por construir una identidad cultural en la sociedad ecuatoriana y que los distintos procesos que se desarrollan en torno a esta, sean respetados y tomados con la seriedad que ameritan, es un motivo más que importante, imprescindible, para generar herramientas y recursos pedagógicos que permitan lograr un escenario adecuado para el estudio y el entendimiento de los diferentes procesos culturales que se llevan a cabo en el país. La forma en que se maneja la información con respecto a las diversas manifestaciones culturales de los pueblos ancestrales y cómo es captada dicha información por los receptores, es lo que demanda un análisis profundo y responsable sobre la cuestión cultural, por parte de los medios de comunicación y los comunicadores sociales. Cuestión cultural que para ciertas empresas, ligadas a la comunicación, se ha convertido en una mercancía más para incrementar sus ingresos económicos y la legitimación de un cierto orden social. La evolución que ha tenido el estudio de la comunicación, desde su antiguo modelo hasta la actualidad, es lo que permite entenderla como una herramienta que posibilita cuestionar la visión reduccionista con los que se trata gran cantidad de temas desde los medios de comunicación.

Background The prognosis of cirrhotic patients in the Intensive Care Unit requires the development of predictive tools for mortality. We aimed to evaluate the ability of different prognostic scores to predict hospital mortality in these patients. Methods A single-centre retrospective analysis was conducted of 281 hospital stays of cirrhotic patients at an Intermediate Care Unit between June 2009 and December 2010. The performance of the Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SOFA), the Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II or III, Child–Pugh, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD), MELD-Na and the Chronic Liver Failure-Consortium Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure score (CLIF-C ACLF) in predicting hospital mortality were compared. Results Mean age was 58.2 ± 12.1 years; 77% were male. The main cause of admission was acute gastrointestinal bleeding (47%). The in-hospital mortality rate was 25.3%. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses demonstrated that SOFA (0.82) MELD-Na (0.82) or MELD (0.81) scores at admission predicted in-hospital mortality better than Child–Pugh (0.76), SAPS II (0.77), SAPS III (0.75) or CLIF-C ACLF (0.75). We then developed the cirrhosis prognostic score (Ci-Pro), which performed better (0.89) than SOFA. Conclusion SOFA, MELD and especially the Ci-Pro score show the best performance in predicting hospital mortality of cirrhotic patients admitted to an Intermediate Care Unit.

Introduction: We assessed the rate of treatment failure of HIV-infected children after 12 months on antiretroviral treatment (ART) in the Paediatric IeDEA West African Collaboration according to their perinatal exposure to antiretroviral drugs for preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT). Methods: A retrospective cohort study in children younger than five years at ART initiation between 2004 and 2009 was nested within the pWADA cohort, in Bamako-Mali and Abidjan-Cote d’Ivoire. Data on PMTCT exposure were collected through a direct review of children’s medical records. The 12-month Kaplan-Meier survival without treatment failure (clinical or immunological) was estimated and their baseline factors studied using a Cox model analysis. Clinical failure was defined as the appearance or reappearance of WHO clinical stage 3 or 4 events or any death occurring within the first 12 months of ART. Immunological failure was defined according to the 2006 World Health Organization age-related immunological thresholds for severe immunodeficiency. Results: Among the 1035 eligible children, PMTCT exposure was only documented for 353 children (34.1%) and remained unknown for 682 (65.9%). Among children with a documented PMTCT exposure, 73 (20.7%) were PMTCT exposed, of whom 61.0% were initiated on a protease inhibitor-based regimen, and 280 (79.3%) were PMTCT unexposed. At 12 months on ART, the survival without treatment failure was 40.6% in the PMTCT-exposed group, 25.2% in the unexposed group and 18.5% in the children with unknown exposure status ( p =0.002). In univariate analysis, treatment failure was significantly higher in children unexposed (HR 1.4; 95% CI: 1.0–1.9) and with unknown PMTCT exposure (HR 1.5; 95% CI: 1.2–2.1) rather than children PMTCT-exposed ( p =0.01). In the adjusted analysis, treatment failure was not significantly associated with PMTCT exposure ( p =0.15) but was associated with immunodeficiency (aHR 1.6; 95% CI: 1.4–1.9; p =0.001), AIDS clinical events (aHR 1.4; 95% CI: 1.0–1.9; p =0.02) at ART initiation and receiving care in Mali compared to Cote d’Ivoire (aHR 1.2; 95% CI: 1.0–1.4; p= 0.04). Conclusions: Despite a low data quality, PMTCT-exposed West African children did not have a poorer 12-month response to ART than others. Immunodeficiency and AIDS events at ART initiation remain the main predictors associated with treatment failure in this operational context. Keywords: PMTCT; HIV; children; antiretroviral efficiency; West Africa. (Published: 2 June 2014) Citation: Ndondoki C et al. Journal of the International AIDS Society 2014, 17 :18737 http://www.jiasociety.org/index.php/jias/article/view/18737 | http://dx.doi.org/10.7448/IAS.17.1.18737

Aims Daily practice shows that patients with pre-capillary pulmonary hypertension (PH) may develop a secondary elevation of their pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) above the 15 mm Hg limit. This phenomenon has not been precisely described yet. We aimed at identifying factors present at initial diagnosis that could predict this secondary elevation of PAWP, its possible causes and impact on survival. Methods and results We included 90 patients followed between 2004 and 2011 in our center. At the end of follow-up (3.0 ± 1.6 years), patients were divided into two groups according to the successive PAWP measurements (always ≤ 15 mm Hg or > 15 mm Hg on at least one right heart catheterization (RHC)). Demographical, biological, echographic and hemodynamical data at first RHC were compared. Possible causes for PAWP > 15 mm Hg were searched. A Kaplan–Meier method was used to assess differences in survival. One third of our cohort developed an elevation of PAWP above 15 mm Hg and patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension were at smaller risk (OR 0.20 [0.05–0.82]; p = 0.026). We did not identify any other baseline predictive factors. We highlighted several possible causes and factors that may unmask an underlying left ventricular diastolic dysfunction. Survival was not different between both groups (p = 0.42). Conclusion Secondary elevation of PAWP in pre-capillary PH was frequent but less observed in idiopathic PH. We detailed many possible causes that can be sought, many of which may be related to an underlying left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE: We describe the association between age at antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation and 24-month CD4 cell response in West African HIV-infected children.METHODS: All HIV-infected children from the IeDEA paediatric West African cohort, initiating ART, with at least two CD4 cell count measurements, including one at ART initiation (baseline) were included. CD4 cell gain on ART was estimated using a multivariable linear mixed model adjusted for baseline variables: age, CD4 cell count, sex, first-line ART regimen. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and a Cox proportional hazards regression model compared immune recovery for age within 24 months post-ART.RESULTS: Of the 4808 children initiated on ART, 3014 were enrolled at a median age of 5.6 years; 61.2% were immunodeficient. After 12 months, children at least 4 years at baseline had significantly lower CD4 cell gains compared with children less than 2 years, the reference group (PCONCLUSION: These results suggest that both the initiation of ART at the earliest age less than 5 years and before any severe immunodeficiency is needed for improving 24-month immune recovery on ART.

Crisis management is currently an important challenge for medical service and research. This motivates the development of new decision system approaches to assist (or to guide) the decision makers. A crisis management is a special type of collaboration involving several actors. The context and characteristics of crisis such as extent of actors and their roles make the crisis management more difficult in order to take decision. In this paper, we propose to model the interaction between different actors involved in crisis management. For this purpose we use finite state automaton in order to optimize the emergency response to the crisis and to reduce the disastrous consequences on people and environment. Thus, an adaptive supervision method is proposed. Therefore, we address the problem of diagnosis and prediction (prognostic) given an incomplete model of the discrete event systems of a crisis situation. When the model is incomplete, we introduce learning into the diagnoser (diagnosis module) construction.

Challenges in integrating cervical cancer screening in HIV care clinics in West Africa: a pilot study in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire Apollinaire Horo, Antoine Jaquet, Badian Toure, Didier K Ekouevi, Severin Lenaud, Benjamin Effi, Annie J Sasco, Eugene Messou, Emmanuel Bissagniene, Mamourou Kone, Francois Dabis From 12 International Conference on Malignancies in AIDS and Other Acquired Immunodeficiencies (ICMAOI) Bethesda, MD, USA. 26-27 April, 2010

International audience; OBJECTIVE: To investigate deaths and losses to follow-up in a programme designed to scale up antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-infected children in Côte d'Ivoire. METHODS: Between 2004 and 2007, HIV-exposed children at 19 centres were offered free HIV serum tests (polymerase chain reaction tests in those aged < 18 months) and ART. Computerized monitoring was used to determine: (i) the number of confirmed HIV infections, (ii) losses to the programme (i.e. death or loss to follow-up) before ART, (iii) mortality and loss-to-programme rates during 12 months of ART, and (iv) determinants of mortality and losses to the programme. FINDINGS: The analysis included 3876 ART-naïve children. Of the 1766 with HIV-1 infections (17% aged < 18 months), 124 (7.0%) died, 52 (2.9%) left the programme, 354 (20%) were lost to follow-up before ART, 259 (15%) remained in care without ART, and 977 (55%) started ART (median age: 63 months). The overall mortality rate during ART was significantly higher in the first 3 months than in months 4-12: 32.8 and 6.9 per 100 child-years of follow-up, respectively. Loss-to-programme rates were roughly double mortality rates and followed the same trend with duration of ART. Independent predictors of 12-month mortality on ART were pre-ART weight-for-age z-score < -2, percentage of CD4+ T lymphocytes < 10, World Health Organization HIV/AIDS clinical stage 3 or 4, and blood haemoglobin < 8 g/dl. CONCLUSION: The large-scale programme to scale up paediatric ART in Côte d'Ivoire was effective. However, ART was often given too late, and early mortality and losses to programme before and just after ART initiation were major problems.

International audience; BACKGROUND: Information is currently limited on the long-term follow up of HIV-1 infected women who are on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) that contains nevirapine and lamivudine and who were previously exposed to antiretroviral drugs for the prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV. METHODS: We studied the 36-month immunological response to HAART in HIV-1 infected women in Côte d'Ivoire. The women were previously exposed to antiretroviral drug regimens for PMTCT, including single-dose nevirapine and/or short-course zidovudine with or without lamivudine. All HAART regimens included a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor. RESULTS: At 36 months: the median absolute increase in CD4+ T cell count was +359 cells/mm3 (IQR: 210-466) in 200 women who had undergone 36-month follow-up visits; +359 cells/mm3 (IQR: 222-491) in 88 women not exposed to PMTCT antiretrovirals; and +363 cells/mm3 (IQR: 200-464) in 112 women exposed to at least one antiretroviral PMTCT regimen. Overall, 49 (19.8%) of the 247 women who initiated HAART met the immunological failure criteria at least once during follow up. The overall probability of immunological failure was 0.08 (95% CI: 0.12-0.15) at 12 months, and 0.21 (95% CI: 0.16-0.27) at 36 months. No difference was observed according to the presence or absence of resistance mutations to nevirapine or lamivudine in women tested at four weeks postpartum. In addition, at 36 months, 23% of women were lost to follow up, dead or had stopped their treatment. CONCLUSIONS: A non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based antiretroviral regimen, initiated a year or more after PMTCT exposure and that includes nevirapine, remains a good option for at least the first 36 months of treatment.

Background In resource-limited settings where nevirapine-containing regimen is the preferred regimen in women, data on severe adverse events (SAEs) according to CD4 cell count are limited. We estimated the incidence of SAEs according to CD4 cell count and identify their risk factors in nevirapine-treated women. Methods All HIV-infected women who initiated nevirapine-containing regimen in the MTCT-Plus operational program in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, were eligible for this study. Laboratory and clinical (rash) SAEs were classified as grade 3 and 4. Cox models were used to identify factors associated with the occurrence of SAEs. Results From August 2003 to October 2006, 290 women initiated a nevirapine-containing regimen at a median CD4 cell count of 186 cells/mm3 (IQR 124-266). During a median follow-up on treatment of 25 months, the incidence of all SAEs was 19.5/100 patient-years. The 24-month probability of occurrence of hepatotoxicity or rash was not different between women with a CD4 cell count >250 cells/mm3 and women with a CD4 cell count ≤250 cells/mm3 (8.3% vs. 9.9%, Log-rank test: p = 0.75). In a multivariate proportional hazard model, neither CD4 cell count >250 cells/mm3 at treatment initiation nor initiation NVP-based regimen initiated during pregnancy were associated with the occurrence of SAEs. Conclusion CD4 cell count >250 cells/mm3 was not associated with a higher risk of severe hepatotoxicity and/or rash, as well as initiation of ART during pregnancy. Pharmacovogilance data as well as meta-analysis on women receiving NVP in these settings are needed for better information about NVP toxicity.

International audience; BACKGROUND: Large HIV care programs frequently subsidize antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and CD4 tests, but patients must often pay for other health-related drugs and services. We estimated the financial burden of health care for households with HIV-infected adults taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Côte d'Ivoire. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey. After obtaining informed consent, we interviewed HIV-infected adults taking ART who had consecutively attended one of 18 HIV care facilities in Abidjan. We collected information on socioeconomic and medical characteristics. The main economic indicators were household capacity-to-pay (overall expenses minus food expenses), and health care expenditures. The primary outcome was the percentage of households confronted with catastrophic health expenditures (health expenditures were defined as catastrophic if they were greater than or equal to 40% of the capacity-to-pay). We recruited 1,190 adults. Median CD4 count was 187/mm(3), median time on ART was 14 months, and 72% of subjects were women. Mean household capacity-to-pay was $213.7/month, mean health expenditures were $24.3/month, and 12.3% of households faced catastrophic health expenditures. Of the health expenditures, 75.3% were for the study subject (ARV drugs and CD4 tests, 24.6%; morbidity events diagnosis and treatment, 50.1%; transportation to HIV care centres, 25.3%) and 24.7% were for other household members. When we stratified by most recent CD4 count, morbidity events related expenses were significantly lower when subjects had higher CD4 counts. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Many households in Côte d'Ivoire face catastrophic health expenditures that are not attributable to ARV drugs or routine follow-up tests. Innovative schemes should be developed to help HIV-infected patients on ART face the cost of morbidity events.

International audience; BACKGROUND: Tobacco smoking is common in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients from industrialised countries. In West Africa, few data concerning tobacco consumption exist. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of the International Epidemiological Database to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) network in West Africa was conducted. Health workers administered a questionnaire assessing tobacco and cannabis consumption among patients receiving antiretroviral treatment. Regular smokers were defined as current smokers who smoked >1 cigarette per day for >or=1 year. RESULTS: Overall, 2920 patients were enrolled in three countries. The prevalence of ever smokers and regular smokers were respectively 46.2% (95%CI 42.8-49.5) and 15.6% (95%CI 13.2-18.0) in men and 3.7% (95%CI 2.9-4.5) and 0.6% (95%CI 0.3-0.9) in women. Regular smoking was associated with being from Côte d'Ivoire or Mali compared to Benin (OR 4.6, 95%CI 2.9-7.3 and 7.7, 95%CI 4.4-13.6), severely impaired immunological status at highly active antiretroviral treatment initiation (OR 1.5, 95%CI 1.1-2.2) and history of tuberculosis (TB; OR 1.8, 95%CI 1.1-3.0). CONCLUSION: There are marked differences in smoking prevalence among these West African countries. This survey approach also provides proof of the association between cigarette smoking and TB in HIV-infected patients, a major public health issue in this part of the world.

Based on data from West Africa, Elena Losina and colleagues predict that interventions to reduce dropout rates from HIV treatment programs (such as eliminating copayments) will be cost-effective., Background Data from HIV treatment programs in resource-limited settings show extensive rates of loss to follow-up (LTFU) ranging from 5% to 40% within 6 mo of antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation. Our objective was to project the clinical impact and cost-effectiveness of interventions to prevent LTFU from HIV care in West Africa. Methods and Findings We used the Cost-Effectiveness of Preventing AIDS Complications (CEPAC) International model to project the clinical benefits and cost-effectiveness of LTFU-prevention programs from a payer perspective. These programs include components such as eliminating ART co-payments, eliminating charges to patients for opportunistic infection-related drugs, improving personnel training, and providing meals and reimbursing for transportation for participants. The efficacies and costs of these interventions were extensively varied in sensitivity analyses. We used World Health Organization criteria of, Editors' Summary Background Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has killed more than 25 million people since the first reported case in 1981. Currently, about 33 million people are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS. Two-thirds of people infected with HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa. HIV infects and destroys immune system cells, thereby weakening the immune system and rendering infected individuals susceptible to infection. There is no cure for HIV/AIDS. Combination antiretroviral therapy (ART), a mixture of antiretroviral drugs that suppress the replication of the virus in the body, is used to treat and prevent HIV infection. ART is expensive but major international efforts by governments, international organizations, and funding bodies have increased ART availability. According to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, at least 9.7 million people in low- and middle-income countries need ART and as of 2007, 3 million of those people had reliable access to the drugs. Why Was This Study Done? Although ART is an effective treatment for HIV, a large number of individuals who initiate ART do not receive long-term follow-up care. These patients are generally sicker and have a worse long-term outcome than those who receive follow-up care. Loss to follow up (LTFU) is a significant problem that can undermine the benefits of expanding ART availability. Strategies to improve follow up concentrate on bringing lost patients back into the health care system, but such patients often die before they can be contacted. Prevention of LTFU might be a better strategy to improve HIV care after ART initiation, but there is little information available on which specific interventions might best accomplish this goal. What Did the Researchers Do and Find? Given the lack of reported data on the actual costs and effectiveness of LTFU prevention, the researchers used a model to estimate the clinical impact and cost-effectiveness of several possible strategies to prevent LTFU in HIV-infected persons receiving ART in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa. The researchers used the previously developed Cost-Effectiveness of Preventing AIDS Complications (CEPAC) computer simulation model and combined it with data from a program of ART delivery in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. They then projected the clinical benefits and the cost required to attain a given level of benefit (cost-effectiveness ratio) of different LTFU-prevention strategies from the perspective of the payer (the organization that pays all the medical costs to provide care). Several interventions were considered, including reducing costs to patients (eliminating patient co-payments and paying for transportation) and increasing services to patients at their visits (improving staff training in HIV care, and providing meals at clinic times). LTFU was predicted to cause a 54.3%–58.3% reduction in the estimated life expectancy beyond age 37; patients continuing HIV care were predicted to live a further 144.7 months whie those lost to follow up by 1 year after ART initiation were predicted to live only for a further 73.9–80.7 months. LTFU-prevention strategies in the Côte d'Ivoire were deemed to be cost-effective if they cost less than $2,823 (which is 3× gross domestic product per capita) per year of life saved. The efficacy and cost of the different LTFU-prevention strategies varied in the analyses; stopping ART co-payment alone would be cost-effective at a cost of $22/person/year if it reduced LTFU rates by 12%, while including all the LTFU-prevention strategies described would be cost-effective at $77/person/year if they reduced LTFU-rates by 41%. What Do These Findings Mean? The findings suggest that moderately effective strategies for preventing LTFU in resource-limited settings would improve survival, provide good value for money, and should be used to improve HIV treatment programs. Although modeling is valuable to explore the costs and effectiveness of LTFU-prevention strategies it cannot replace the need for more reported data to shed light on problems leading to LTFU and the prevention strategies required to combat it. Also, Côte d'Ivoire might not be representative of all West African countries or resource-limited settings. A similar analysis using data from other ART programs in different countries would be useful to provide better understanding of the impact of LTFU in HIV treatment programs. Finally, the research highlights the cost of second-line ART (a new antiretroviral drug combination for patients in whom first-line treatment fails) as a crucial issue. It is estimated that 5% of all people receiving ART in low- and middle-income countries receive second-line ART and these numbers are expected to increase. Second-line ART had major effects on cost-effectiveness, and a reduction in the cost of this treatment is critical in order to guarantee continued access to HIV treatment. Additional Information Please access these Web sites via the online version of this summary at http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000173. This study is further discussed in a PLoS Medicine Perspective by Gregory Bisson and Jeffrey Stringer WHO provides information on disease prevention, treatment, and HIV/AIDS programs and projects The UN Millennium Development Goals project site contains information on worldwide efforts to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS aidsmap, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization, provides information on HIV and supporting those living with HIV

Comparing mortality rates between patients starting HIV treatment and the general population in four African countries, Matthias Egger and colleagues find the gap decreases over time, especially with early treatment., Background Mortality in HIV-infected patients who have access to highly active antiretroviral therapy (ART) has declined in sub-Saharan Africa, but it is unclear how mortality compares to the non-HIV–infected population. We compared mortality rates observed in HIV-1–infected patients starting ART with non-HIV–related background mortality in four countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods and Findings Patients enrolled in antiretroviral treatment programmes in Côte d'Ivoire, Malawi, South Africa, and Zimbabwe were included. We calculated excess mortality rates and standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Expected numbers of deaths were obtained using estimates of age-, sex-, and country-specific, HIV-unrelated, mortality rates from the Global Burden of Disease project. Among 13,249 eligible patients 1,177 deaths were recorded during 14,695 person-years of follow-up. The median age was 34 y, 8,831 (67%) patients were female, and 10,811 of 12,720 patients (85%) with information on clinical stage had advanced disease when starting ART. The excess mortality rate was 17.5 (95% CI 14.5–21.1) per 100 person-years SMR in patients who started ART with a CD4 cell count of less than 25 cells/µl and World Health Organization (WHO) stage III/IV, compared to 1.00 (0.55–1.81) per 100 person-years in patients who started with 200 cells/µl or above with WHO stage I/II. The corresponding SMRs were 47.1 (39.1–56.6) and 3.44 (1.91–6.17). Among patients who started ART with 200 cells/µl or above in WHO stage I/II and survived the first year of ART, the excess mortality rate was 0.27 (0.08–0.94) per 100 person-years and the SMR was 1.14 (0.47–2.77). Conclusions Mortality of HIV-infected patients treated with combination ART in sub-Saharan Africa continues to be higher than in the general population, but for some patients excess mortality is moderate and reaches that of the general population in the second year of ART. Much of the excess mortality might be prevented by timely initiation of ART. Please see later in the article for Editors' Summary, Editors' Summary Background Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has killed more than 25 million people since 1981 and more than 30 million people (22 million in sub-Saharan Africa alone) are now infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS. HIV destroys immune system cells (including CD4 cells, a type of lymphocyte), leaving infected individuals susceptible to other infections. Early in the AIDS epidemic, most HIV-positive people died within ten years of infection. Then, in 1996, highly active antiretroviral therapy (ART)—combinations of powerful antiretroviral drugs—was developed and the life expectancy of HIV-infected people living in affluent countries improved dramatically. Now, in industrialized countries, all-cause mortality (death from any cause) among HIV-infected patients treated successfully with ART is similar to that of the general population and the mortality rate (the number of deaths in a population per year) among patients with HIV/AIDS is comparable to that among patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions. Why Was This Study Done? Unfortunately, combination ART is costly, so although HIV/AIDS quickly became a chronic disease in industrialized countries, AIDS deaths continued unabated among the millions of HIV-infected people living in low- and middle-income countries. Then, in 2003, governments, international agencies and funding bodies began to implement plans to increase ART coverage in developing countries. By the end of 2007, nearly three million people living with HIV/AIDS in these countries were receiving ART—nearly a third of the people who urgently need ART. In sub-Saharan Africa more than 2 million people now receive ART and mortality in HIV-infected patients who have access to ART is declining. However, no-one knows how mortality among HIV-infected people starting ART compares with non-HIV related mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. This information is needed to ensure that appropriate health services (including access to ART) are provided in this region. In this study, the researchers compare mortality rates among HIV-infected patients starting ART with non-HIV related mortality in the general population of four sub-Saharan countries. What Did the Researchers Do and Find? The researchers obtained estimates of the number of HIV-unrelated deaths and information about patients during their first two years on ART at five antiretroviral treatment programs in the Côte d'Ivoire, Malawi, South Africa, and Zimbabwe from the World Health Organization Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project and the International epidemiological Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) initiative, respectively. They then calculated the excess mortality rates among the HIV-infected patients (the death rates in HIV-infected patients minus the national HIV-unrelated death rates) and the standardized mortality rate (SMR; the number of deaths among HIV-infected patients divided by the number of HIV-unrelated deaths in the general population). The excess mortality rate among HIV-infected people who started ART when they had a low CD4 cell count and clinically advanced disease was 17.5 per 100 person-years of follow-up. For HIV-infected people who started ART with a high CD4 cell count and early disease, the excess mortality rate was 1.0 per 100 person-years. The SMRs over two years of ART for these two groups of HIV-infected patients were 47.1 and 3.4, respectively. Finally, patients who started ART with a high CD4 cell count and early disease who survived the first year of ART had an excess mortality of only 0.27 per 100 person-years and an SMR over two years follow-up of only 1.14. What Do These Findings Mean? These findings indicate that mortality among HIV-infected people during the first two years of ART is higher than in the general population in these four sub-Saharan countries. However, for patients who start ART when they have a high CD4 count and clinically early disease, the excess mortality is moderate and similar to that associated with diabetes. Because the researchers compared the death rates among HIV-infected patients with estimates of national death rates rather than with estimates of death rates for the areas where the ART programs were located, these findings may not be completely accurate. Nevertheless, these findings support further expansion of strategies that increase access to ART in sub-Saharan Africa and suggest the excess mortality among HIV-infected patients in this region might be largely prevented by starting ART before an individual's HIV infection has progressed to advanced stages. Additional Information Please access these Web sites via the online version of this summary at http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000066. Information is available from the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on HIV infection and AIDS HIV InSite has comprehensive information on all aspects of HIV/AIDS Information is available from Avert, an international AIDS charity on many aspects of HIV/AIDS including HIV and AIDS in Africa, providing AIDS drug treatment for millions, and on the stages of HIV infection The World Health Organization provides information about universal access to HIV treatment and about the Global Burden of Disease project (in several languages) More information about the International epidemiological Databases to evaluate AIDS initiative is available on the IeDEA Web site

International audience; OBJECTIVES: To describe a family-focused approach to HIV care and treatment and report on the first 2 years experience of implementing the mother-to-child transmission (MTCT)-plus program in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. PROGRAM: The MTCT-plus initiative aims to enroll HIV-infected pregnant and postpartum women in comprehensive HIV care and treatment for themselves and their families. MAIN OUTCOMES: Between August 2003 and August 2005, 605 HIV-infected pregnant or postpartum women and 582 HIV-exposed infants enrolled. Of their 568 male partners reported alive, 52% were aware of their wife's HIV status and 30% were tested for HIV; 53% of these tested partners were found to be HIV-infected and 78% enrolled into the program. Overall only 10% of the women enrolled together with their infected partner. On the other hand, the program involved half of the seronegative men who came for voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) in the care of their families. Of 1624 children

International audience; BACKGROUND: Pregnancy outcomes in women receiving highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) in Africa are not well described. METHODS: HIV-1-infected pregnant women in the ANRS Ditrame Plus and the MTCT-Plus projects were included. Between March 2001 and July 2003, when HAART was not yet available, women eligible for HAART received a short-course antiretroviral regimen, zidovudine (ZDV) or (ZDV + lamivudine) and single dose of nevirapine for preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT group). Between August 2003 and August 2007, eligible women for HAART received it (HAART group). The frequencies of low birth weight (LBW) (

International audience; OBJECTIVE: To assess the rates and determinants of mortality, loss to follow-up and immunological failure in a nongovernmental organization-implemented program of access to antiretroviral treatment in C?d'Ivoire. METHODS: In each new treatment center, professionals were trained in HIV care, and a computerized data system was implemented. Individual patient and program level determinants of survival, loss to follow-up and immunological failure were assessed by multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Between May 2004 and February 2007, 10,211 patients started antiretroviral treatment in 19 clinics (median preantiretroviral treatment CD4 cell count, 123 cells/microl; initial regimen zidovudine-lamivudine-efavirenz, 20%; stavudine-lamivudine-efavirenz, 22%; stavudine-lamivudine-nevirapine, 52%). At 18 months on antiretroviral treatment, the median gain in CD4 cell count was +202 cells/microl, the probability of death was 0.15 and the probability of being loss to follow-up was 0.21. In addition to the commonly reported determinants of impaired outcomes (low CD4 cell count, low BMI, low hemoglobin, advanced clinical stage, old age and poor adherence), two factors were also shown to independently jeopardize prognosis: male sex (men vs. women: hazard ratio = 1.52 for death, 1.27 for loss to follow-up, 1.31 for immunological failure); and attending a recently opened clinic (inexperienced vs. experienced centers: hazard ratio = 1.40 for death, 1.58 for loss to follow-up). None of the three outcomes was associated with the drug regimen. DISCUSSION: In this rapidly scaling-up program, survival and immune reconstitution were good; women and patients followed up in centers with longer experience had better outcomes; outcomes were similar in zidovudine/stavudine-based regimens and in efavirenz/nevirapine-based regimens. Decreasing the rate of loss to follow-up should now be the top priority in antiretroviral treatment rollout.

International audience; OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to study the response to antiretroviral treatment among women exposed to single-dose nevirapine (NVP) and/or short-course zidovudine (ZDV; with or without lamivudine [3TC]) for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. METHODS: All HIV type 1-infected women who initiated antiretroviral treatment with stavudine or ZDV, 3TC, and NVP or efavirenz were eligible for the MTCT-Plus program in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Exposed women had received either single-dose NVP alone or short-course ZDV (with or without 3TC) plus single-dose NVP during previous pregnancy. Genotypic resistance testing was performed at week 4 after delivery. Virologic failure was defined as a plasma HIV RNA level >500 copies/mL 12 months after initiation of antiretroviral treatment. RESULTS: Among 247 women who received antiretroviral treatment, 109 (44%) were unexposed; 81 had received short-course ZDV with 3TC, as well as single-dose NVP; 5 had received short-course ZDV plus 3TC; 50 had received short-course ZDV plus single-dose NVP; and 2 had received single-dose NVP alone. No ZDV mutation was detected in the 115 women whose specimens were available for genotypic testing; 11 (15.1%) of 73 women with 3TC exposure who were tested after delivery had 3TC resistance mutations. Three (4.3%) of 69 women exposed to short-course ZDV and 3TC plus single-dose NVP and 16 (38.1%) of 42 women exposed to short-course ZDV plus single-dose NVP had NVP resistance mutations. Antiretroviral treatment was initiated a median of 21 months after the intervention to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission (median CD4(+) T lymphocyte count, 188 cells/mm(3)). Month 12 virologic failure was identified in 42 (19.2%) of 219 women for whom data were available, and multivariate analysis revealed that it was associated with poor adherence to treatment (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 12.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.0-53.9), postpartum 3TC resistance mutations (aOR, 6.9; 95% CI, 1.1-42.9), and a baseline CD4(+) T lymphocyte count

OBJECTIVES: To analyse the association between the presence of resistance mutations and treatment outcomes. The impact of HIV-1 drug resistance mutations in African adults on HAART has so far never been reported. METHODS: In 2004 in Abidjan, C?d'Ivoire, 106 adults on HAART had plasma viral load measurements. Patients with detectable viral loads had resistance genotypic tests. Patients were followed until 2006. Main outcomes were serious morbidity and immunological failure (CD4 cell count < 200 cells/microl). RESULTS: At study entry, the median previous time on HAART was 37 months and the median CD4 cell count was 266 cells/microl; 58% of patients had undetectable viral loads, 20% had detectable viral loads with no major resistance mutations, and 22% had detectable viral loads with one or more major mutations. The median change in CD4 cell count between study entry and study termination was +129 cells/microl in patients with undetectable viral loads, +51 cells/microl in those with detectable viral loads with no mutations and +3 cells/microl in those with detectable viral loads with resistance mutations. Compared with patients with undetectable viral loads, those with detectable viral loads with resistance mutations had adjusted hazard ratios of immunological failure of 4.32 (95%CI 1.38-13.57, P = 0.01). One patient died. The 18-month probability of remaining free of morbidity was 0.79 in patients with undetectable viral loads and 0.69 in those with resistance mutations (P = 0.19). CONCLUSION: In this setting with restricted access to second-line HAART, patients with major resistance mutations had higher rates of immunological failure, but most maintained stable CD4 cell counts and stayed alive for at least 20 months.

Background Highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) has only been recently recommended for HIV-infected pregnant women requiring treatment for their own health in resource-limited settings. However, there are few documented experiences from African countries. We evaluated the short-term (4 wk) and long-term (12 mo) effectiveness of a two-tiered strategy of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) in Africa: women meeting the eligibility criteria of the World Health Organization (WHO) received HAART, and women with less advanced HIV disease received short-course antiretroviral (scARV) PMTCT regimens. Methods and Findings The MTCT-Plus Initiative is a multi-country, family-centred HIV care and treatment program for pregnant and postpartum women and their families. Pregnant women enrolled in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire received either HAART for their own health or short-course antiretroviral (scARV) PMTCT regimens according to their clinical and immunological status. Plasma HIV-RNA viral load (VL) was measured to diagnose peripartum infection when infants were 4 wk of age, and HIV final status was documented either by rapid antibody testing when infants were aged ≥ 12 mo or by plasma VL earlier. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate the rate of HIV transmission and HIV-free survival. Between August 2003 and June 2005, 107 women began HAART at a median of 30 wk of gestation, 102 of them with zidovudine (ZDV), lamivudine (3TC), and nevirapine (NVP) and they continued treatment postpartum; 143 other women received scARV for PMTCT, 103 of them with sc(ZDV+3TC) with single-dose NVP during labour. Most (75%) of the infants were breast-fed for a median of 5 mo. Overall, the rate of peripartum HIV transmission was 2.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.3%–4.2%) and the cumulative rate at 12 mo was 5.7% (95% CI 2.5%–9.0%). The overall probability of infant death or infection with HIV was 4.3% (95% CI 1.7%–7.0%) at age week 4 wk and 11.7% (95% CI 7.5%–15.9%) at 12 mo. Conclusions This two-tiered strategy appears to be safe and highly effective for short- and long-term PMTCT in resource-constrained settings. These results indicate a further benefit of access to HAART for pregnant women who need treatment for their own health., In an observational cohort study from Côte d'Ivoire, François Dabis and colleagues report on prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission among women receiving antiretroviral therapy according to World Health Organization recommendations., Editors' Summary Background Effective treatments are available to prevent AIDS in people who are infected with HIV, but not everyone with HIV needs to take medication. Usually, anti-HIV medication is recommended only for those whose immune systems have been significantly affected by the virus, as evidenced by symptoms or by the results of a blood test, the CD4 lymphocyte (“T cell”) count. Treating HIV usually requires a combination of three or more medications. These combinations (called HAART) must be taken every day, can cause complications, and can be expensive. Worldwide, more than half a million children became infected with HIV each year. Most of these children acquire HIV from their mothers during pregnancy or around the time of birth. If a pregnant woman with HIV takes HAART, her chances of passing HIV to the baby are greatly reduced, but the possible side effects of HAART on the baby are not known. Also, most transmission of HIV from mothers to babies occurs in poor countries where supplies of HAART are limited. For these reasons, World Health Organization (WHO) does not recommend that every pregnant woman receive HAART to prevent HIV transmission to the baby, unless the woman needs HAART for her own health (for example if her T cells are low or she has severe symptoms of HIV infection). For pregnant women with HIV who do not need to take HAART for their own health, less complicated treatments, involving a short course of one or two HIV drugs, can be used to reduce the risk of passing HIV to the baby. Why Was This Study Done? The WHO recommendations for HAART in pregnancy are based on the best available evidence, but it is important to know how well they work in actual practice. The authors of this study were providing HIV treatment to pregnant women with HIV in West Africa through an established clinic program in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, and wanted to see how well the WHO recommendations for HAART or short-course treatments, depending on the mother's condition, were working to protect babies from HIV infection. What Did the Researchers Do and Find? The researchers studied 250 HIV-infected pregnant women who received HIV medications in the Abidjan program between mid-2003 and mid-2005. In accordance with WHO guidelines, 107 women began HAART for their own health during pregnancy, and 143 women did not qualify for HAART but received other short course treatments (scARV) to prevent HIV transmission to their babies. The authors monitored mothers and babies for treatment side effects and tested the babies for HIV infection up to age 1 y. They found that HAART was relatively safe during pregnancy, although babies born to women on HAART were more likely (26.3%) to have low birth weight than babies born to women who received scARV (12.4%). Also, 7.5% of women on HAART developed side effects requiring a change in their medications. Combining the results from HAART and scART groups, the chance of HIV transmission around the time of birth was 2.2%, increasing to 5.7% at age 1 y. (Three-quarters of the infants were breast-fed; safe water for mixing formula was not reliably available.) The study found no difference in risk of HIV infection between babies whose mothers received HAART and those whose mothers received scARV according to guidelines. What Do These Findings Mean? These results support the safety and effectiveness of the WHO two-tiered approach for preventing mother-to-child transmission. This study was not designed to compare HAART to scART directly, because the women who received HAART were the ones with more advanced HIV infection, which might have affected their babies in many ways. Compared to earlier pregnancy studies of HAART in rich countries, this study of the WHO approach in West Africa showed similar success in protecting infants from HIV infection around the time of birth. Unfortunately, because formula feeding was not generally available in resource-limited settings, protection declined over the first year of life with breast-feeding, but some protection remained. This study confirms that close monitoring of pregnant women on HAART is necessary, so that drugs can be changed if side effects develop. The study does not tell us whether using scARV in pregnancy might change the virus in ways that would make it more difficult to treat the same women with HAART later if they needed it. The reason for low birth weight in some babies born to mothers on HAART is unclear. It may be because the women who needed HAART had more severe health problems from their HIV, or it may be a result of the HAART itself. Additional Information. Please access these Web sites via the online version of this summary at http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0040257. World Health Organization has a page on prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV “Women, Children, and HIV” is a resource site from the François Xavier Bagnoud Center and UCSF The MTCT-Plus initiative at Columbia University supports the programs in Abidjan