HIV management in a mining company in South Africa

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The mining industry having been identified as a particularly vulnerable sector to the potentially devastating effects of HIV and AIDS, it became clear that proper management thereof is essential if we are to mitigate these. Two-hundred-and-seventy-nine of the 720 patient files from the mine‟s wellness clinic were reviewed for clinical appropriateness. These files were scrutinised to evaluate adherence to treatment guidelines. The review was conducted using the wellness clinic‟s treatment guidelines, adapted from the South African HIV Clinicians Society (SAHIVCS) 2008 guidelines asking the four questions: 'when to start therapy, 'what therapy to start, 'co-existence of other illnesses, 'when to change therapy.The guidelines were largely adhered to as far as starting the right type of therapy at the right time. 'When to start therapy was adhered to in 97.1 percent of the cases, 'when to start in 99.6 percent. However evaluation of 'co-existence of other illnesses came in at a rather low figure of 45.5 percent. Although the need for change of therapy was very low (2.5 percent), 57.5 percent of those who needed a change in therapy were prolonged on failing regimens for periods of more than three months.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University