Point-of-Care CD4 Cell–Count Testing Provides Benefit in Resource-Limited Settings

Implementing point-of-care CD4 cell–count testing in patients with newly diagnosed HIV infection reduced loss to follow-up and facilitated treatment initiation.

Low retention in care among patients with newly diagnosed HIV infection has been identified as a major obstacle to more successful scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in resource-poor countries. In this retrospective study, researchers evaluated whether the introduction of point-of-care CD4 cell–count testing at four public HIV clinics in Mozambique reduced loss to follow-up in the period before treatment initiation.

Medical records were reviewed for 492 patients who were seen before the introduction of point-of-care CD4 cell–count testing and 437 who were seen afterward. The baseline standard practice was to obtain blood samples from newly diagnosed patients, send the samples in weekly batches to a reference laboratory, and then have t…

Reviewing Author

Keith Henry, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardViiV Advisory Board

Editorial BoardsJAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes

Keith Henry, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardViiV Advisory Board

Editorial BoardsJAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes

Point-of-Care CD4 Cell–Count Testing Provides Benefit in Resource-Limited Settings

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Reviewing Author