Prevalence of HIV and sexually transmitted infections and patterns of recent HIV testing among men who have sex with men in Zagreb, Croatia

Božičević, Ivana; Lepej, Snježana Židovec; Rode, Oktavija Đaković; Grgić, Ivo; Jankovic, Patricija; Dominkovic, Zoran; Lukas, Davorka; Johnston, Lisa G.; Begovać, Josip

doi:10.1136/sextrans-2011-050374

Cited by 26 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…These results are similar to those reported in a same-day HIV testing clinic in the UK and the Netherlands, but much higher than those reported for MSM testing at VCTs in Switzerland [18], [20], [23]. In Croatia, surveys of HIV seroprevalence among MSM indicate a prevalence of 4.5% in 2006 and 2.8% in 2010 [25], suggesting that the HIV epidemic may not have advanced in this population over the last 5 years.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Repeat HIV Testing at Voluntary Testing and Counseling Centers in Croatia: Successful HIV Prevention or Failure to Modify Risk Behaviors?

et al. 2014

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HIV testing plays a critical role in preventing the spread of the virus and identifying infected individuals in need of care. Voluntary counseling and testing centers (VCTs) not only conduct testing but they also provide counseling. Since a proportion of people who test negative for HIV on their previous visit will return for retesting, the frequency of retesting and the characteristics of those who retest may provide insights into the efficacy of testing and counseling strategies. In this cross-sectional, retrospective study of 1,482 VCT clients in Croatia in 2010, 44.3% had been tested for HIV before. The rate of repeat HIV testing is lower in Croatia than in other countries. Men who have sex with men (MSM) clients, those with three or more sexual partners in the last 12 months, consistent condom users with steady partners, and intravenous drug users were more likely to be repeat testers. This finding suggests that clients presenting for repeat HIV testing are those who self-identify as being at a higher risk of infection. Our data showed that testing positive for HIV was not associated with repeat testing. However, the effects of repeat testing on HIV epidemiology needs to be explored.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Repeat HIV Testing at Voluntary Testing and Counseling Centers in Croatia: Successful HIV Prevention or Failure to Modify Risk Behaviors?

et al. 2014

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“…Although a recent increase in cases of HIV infection has been observed among men who have sex with men (MSM) [19–21], Croatia is still considered a country with a low-level epidemic [19,20,22]. Health insurance is universal in Croatia and antiretroviral drug therapy became available free of charge in April 1998.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxicity-related antiretroviral drug treatment modifications in individuals starting therapy: A cohort analysis of time patterns, sex, and other risk factors

et al. 2013

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BackgroundModifications to combination antiretroviral drug therapy (CART) regimens can occur for a number of reasons, including adverse drug effects. We investigated the frequency of and reasons for antiretroviral drug modifications (ADM) during the first 3 years after initiation of CART, in a closed cohort of CART-naïve adult patients who started treatment in the period 1998–2007 in Croatia.Material/MethodsWe calculated differential toxicity rates by the Poisson method. In multivariable analysis, we used a discrete-time regression model for repeated events for the outcome of modification due to drug toxicity.ResultsOf 321 patients who started CART, median age was 40 years, 19% were women, baseline CD4 was <200 cells/mm3 in 71%, and viral load was ≥100 000 copies/mL in 69%. Overall, 220 (68.5%) patients had an ADM; 124 (56%) of these had ≥1 ADM for toxicity reasons. Only 12.7% of individuals starting CART in the period 1998–2002 and 39.4% in the period 2003–2007 remained on the same regimen after 3 years. The following toxicities caused ADM most often: lipoatrophy (22%), gastrointestinal symptoms (20%), and neuropathy (18%). Only 5% of drug changes were due to virologic failure. Female sex (hazard ratio [HR], 2.42 95%; confidence intervals, 1.39–4.24) and older age (HR, 1.42 per every 10 years) were associated with toxicity-related ADM in the first 3 months of a particular CART regimen, but after 3 months of CART they were not.ConclusionsLess toxic and better-tolerated HIV treatment options should be available and used more frequently in Croatia.

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“…Sanger sequencing identified triple class resistance to three antiretroviral drug classes (NRTIs, NNRTs and PIs). According to HIVdb NRTI E44D, T215E LLR: AZT NNRTI K103N, L100I R: EFV, NVP, RPV IR: DOR, ETR PI V32I, I47V IR: ATV/r, DRV/r, LPV/r have sex with men (MSM) who are mainly infected in Croatia [20][21] .…”

Section: Discusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Triple Class HIV-1 Drug Resistance in Croatia: the First Report

Planinić¹,

Oroz²,

Lepej³

2019

Rad Hrvatske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti

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Prevalence of HIV and sexually transmitted infections and patterns of recent HIV testing among men who have sex with men in Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract: The results indicate that there might have not been a progression of an HIV and STI epidemic in the past 5 years among MSM in Croatia. Prevention should expand by providing better uptake of HIV and STI testing services, thus enabling timely treatment.

Cited by 26 publications

References 26 publications

Repeat HIV Testing at Voluntary Testing and Counseling Centers in Croatia: Successful HIV Prevention or Failure to Modify Risk Behaviors?

Repeat HIV Testing at Voluntary Testing and Counseling Centers in Croatia: Successful HIV Prevention or Failure to Modify Risk Behaviors?

Toxicity-related antiretroviral drug treatment modifications in individuals starting therapy: A cohort analysis of time patterns, sex, and other risk factors

Triple Class HIV-1 Drug Resistance in Croatia: the First Report

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