Most women diagnosed with HIV in pregnancy retained in care

(HealthDay)—Most women diagnosed with HIV during pregnancy are still retained in clinical care over the first year postpartum, according to a study published in the July issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Carol-Ann Swain, Ph.D., from the New York State Department of Health in New York City, and colleagues examined initial receipt of HIV-related medical care at 30 days after diagnosis and before delivery and assessed retention of care in 228 HIV-infected women diagnosed during pregnancy.

The researchers found that 74 and 87 percent of women had their initial HIV-related care encounter within 30 days of diagnosis and before delivery, respectively. In the first year postpartum, 70 percent of these women were retained. Women who waited more than 30 days for their initial HIV-related care encounter were more likely diagnosed in the first versus third trimester (29 versus 11 percent) and were younger versus older (<25 years [32 percent] versus ≥35 years [13 percent]). Loss to follow-up was significantly greater in the first year among women diagnosed in the third versus first trimester and for those who had a cesarean versus vaginal delivery (adjusted relative risks, 2.21 and 1.76, respectively). Fifty-eight percent of the 178 women with one or more HIV viral load tests in the first year postpartum had an unsuppressed viral load.

"Despite the high proportion retained in care, many women had poor postpartum virologic control," the authors write.

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