A longitudinal analysis of the completeness of maternal HIV testing, including repeat testing in Cape Town, South Africa

Introduction: The virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV cannot be achieved without complete maternal HIV testing. The World Health Organization recommends that women in high HIV prevalent settings repeat HIV testing in the third trimester, and at delivery or directly thereafter. The Western Cape Province (South Africa) prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) guidelines recommend a repeat maternal HIV test between 32 and 34 weeks gestation and at delivery in addition to testing at the first antenatal visit (ideally Methods: Between 2013 and 2016 we established an electronic PMTCT register that consolidated routine data from a primary healthcare facility and its secondary and tertiary referral sites in Cape Town. This provided a longitudinal record for each participant, from first antenatal visit to delivery. Utilizing these data, we conducted a retrospective analysis investigating the completeness of maternal HIV testing according to the PMTCT HIV testing guidelines in Cape Town, and predictors of complete testing, from 2014 to 2016. Results: Among 8558 enrolled pregnant women, 7213 (84%) were not known to be HIV positive at their first visit and thus eligible for HIV testing; 91% of them received [greater than or equal to]1 HIV test during pregnancy/delivery. Testing at the first visit was 98% among the 85% of women who attended antenatal care. Among women eligible to receive all three recommended HIV tests, only 11% achieved all three tests. Delivery HIV testing completion among all women without an HIV-positive diagnosis was 23%. HIV prevalence at delivery was 21% and HIV incidence between first visit and delivery in those with [greater than or equal to]2 HIV tests was 0.2%. Women who enrolled after 2014 were more likely to receive the three recommended tests (aOR: 1.41; 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.81) and retest at delivery (aOR: 1.20; 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.39). Conclusions: Implementation of maternal HIV testing in Cape Town improved between 2014 and 2016 but major gaps remain, particularly at delivery. Keywords: HIV; PMTCT; repeat testing; guideline implementation; maternal HIV testing; South Africa Additional information may be found under the Supporting Information tab for this article.
1 | INTRODUCTION The implementation of policies recommending immediate lifelong triple antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation for all HIV-positive pregnant women (Option B+) has been shown to be effective in reducing [...]