Missed opportunities for prevention of perinatal HIV infection

Matos, Vanessa Terezinha Gubert de; Oliveira, Ana Lúcia Lyrio de; Santos, Edinéia Ribeiro Dos; Alencar, Susã Kelly da Rocha; Fabbro, Márcia Maria Ferrairo Janini Dal

doi:10.1016/j.bjid.2015.06.002

Cited by 1 publication

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“…The main weakness of the system is that many women fail to receive an HIV diagnosis before delivery as a result of either absent or inadequate prenatal care , with a consequent absence of any form of prophylaxis for the child. As effective procedures exist to reduce the rate of transmission virtually to zero, each single infected newborn represents an unacceptable missed opportunity for safeguarding the health of the new generation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Missed opportunities to prevent mother‐to‐child transmission of HIV in Italy

et al. 2019

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ObjectivesVertical transmission of HIV can be effectively controlled through antenatal screening, antiretroviral treatment and the services provided during and after childbirth for mother and newborn. In Italy, the National Health Service guarantees universal access to prenatal care for all women, including women with HIV infection. Despite this, children are diagnosed with HIV infection every year. The aim of the study was to identify missed opportunities for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. MethodsThe Italian Register for HIV Infection in Children, which was started in 1985 and involves 106 hospitals throughout the country, collects data on all new cases of HIV infection in children. For this analysis, we reviewed the database for the period 2005 to 2015. ResultsWe found 79 HIV-1-infected children newly diagnosed after birth in Italy. Thirty-two of the mothers were Italian. During the pregnancy, only 15 of 19 women with a known HIV diagnosis were treated with antiretroviral treatment, while, of 34 women who had received an HIV diagnosis before labour began, only 23 delivered by caesarean section and 17 received intrapartum prophylaxis. In 25 mothers, HIV infection was diagnosed during pregnancy or in the peripartum period. Thirty-one newborns received antiretroviral prophylaxis and 39 received infant formula. ConclusionsWe found an unacceptable number of missed opportunities to prevent mother-to-child transmission (MCTC). Eliminating HIV MTCT is a universal World Health Organization goal. Elucidating organization failures in Italy over the past decade should help to improve early diagnosis and to reach the zero transmission target in newborns.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%