Open AccessChallenges with targeted viral load testing for medical inpatients at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi
Author(s) -
Alison Craik,
Priyanka Patel,
Pratiksha Patel,
Jane Mallewa,
Ken Malisita,
Joseph Bitilinyu-Bangoh,
Joep J. van Oosterhout,
Christine Kelly
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
malawi medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.43
H-Index - 18
eISSN - 1995-7270
pISSN - 1995-7262
DOI - 10.4314/mmj.v28i4.6
Subject(s) - medicine , viral load , antiretroviral therapy , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , audit , outpatient clinic , pediatrics , emergency medicine , family medicine , economics , management
Approximately 75% of medical inpatients at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) in Blantyre, Malawi are HIV seropositive, and a third of these patients are on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Malawi guidelines recommend targeted viral load (VL) testing for patients on ART for at least one year who report excellent adherence and present with a WHO clinical stage 3 or 4 HIV disease. A switch to second-line ART is only indicated if a VL result >5000 copies/mL confirms treatment failure.
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