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Optimizing Human Immunodeficiency Virus Testing Interventions for Men Who Have Sex With Men in the United States: A Modeling Study.

ABSTRACT: Background. ?In the United States, public health recommendations for men who have sex with men (MSM) include testing for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) at least annually. We model the impact of different possible HIV testing policies on HIV incidence in a simulated population parameterized to represent US MSM. Methods. ?We used exponential random graph models to explore, among MSM, the short-term impact on baseline (under current HIV testing practices and care linkage) HIV incidence of the following: (1) increasing frequency of testing; (2) increasing the proportion who ever test; (3) increasing test sensitivity; (4) increasing the proportion of the diagnosed population achieving viral suppression; and combinations of 1-4. We simulated each scenario 20 times and calculated the median and interquartile range of 3-year cumulative incidence of HIV infection. Results. ?The only intervention that reduced HIV incidence on its own was increasing the proportion of the diagnosed population achieving viral suppression; increasing frequency of testing, the proportion that ever test or test sensitivity did not appreciably reduce estimated incidence. However, in an optimal scenario in which viral suppression improved to 100%, HIV incidence could be reduced by an additional 17% compared with baseline by increasing testing frequency to every 90 days and test sensitivity to 22 days postinfection. Conclusions. ?Increased frequency, coverage, or sensitivity of HIV testing among MSM is unlikely to result in reduced HIV incidence unless men diagnosed through enhanced testing programs are also engaged in effective HIV care resulting in viral suppression at higher rates than currently observed.

SUBMITTER: Delaney KP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4653969 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Optimizing Human Immunodeficiency Virus Testing Interventions for Men Who Have Sex With Men in the United States: A Modeling Study.

Delaney Kevin P KP Rosenberg Eli S ES Kramer Michael R MR Waller Lance A LA Sullivan Patrick S PS

Open forum infectious diseases 20151020 4

Background. In the United States, public health recommendations for men who have sex with men (MSM) include testing for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) at least annually. We model the impact of different possible HIV testing policies on HIV incidence in a simulated population parameterized to represent US MSM. Methods. We used exponential random graph models to explore, among MSM, the short-term impact on baseline (under current HIV testing practices and care linkage) HIV incidence of the f ...[more]

PMID: 26613096

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Project description:The incidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected men who have sex with men has increased in recent years and is associated with high-risk sexual behavior. Behavioral interventions that target high-risk behavior associated with HCV transmission and treatment with direct-acting antivirals may prevent further HCV infections. We predicted the effect of behavioral and treatment interventions on HCV incidence and prevalence among HIV-infected men who have sex with men up to 2030 using a HCV transmission model parameterized with data from the Swiss HIV Cohort Study. We assessed behavioral interventions associated with further increase, stabilization, and decrease in the size of the population with high-risk behavior. Treatment interventions included increase in treatment uptake and use of direct-acting antivirals. If we assumed that without behavioral interventions high-risk behavior spread further according to the trends observed over the last decade and that the treatment practice did not change, HCV incidence converged to 10.7/100 person-years. All assessed behavioral interventions alone resulted in reduced HCV transmissions. Stabilization of high-risk behavior combined with increased treatment uptake and the use of direct-acting antivirals reduced incidence by 77% (from 2.2 in 2015 to 0.5/100 person-years) and prevalence by 81% (from 4.8% in 2015 to 0.9%) over the next 15 years. Increasing treatment uptake was more effective than increasing treatment efficacy to reduce HCV incidence and prevalence. A decrease in high-risk behavior led to a rapid decline in HCV incidence, independent of treatment interventions.ConclusionTreatment interventions to curb the HCV epidemic among HIV-infected men who have sex with men are effective if high-risk behavior does not increase as it has during the last decade; reducing high-risk behavior associated with HCV transmission would be the most effective intervention for controlling the HCV epidemic, even if this was not accompanied by an increase in treatment uptake or efficacy. (Hepatology 2016;64:1856-1869).

Project description:INTRODUCTION:HIV testing is an essential prerequisite for accessing treatment with antiretroviral therapy or prevention using pre-exposure prophylaxis. Internet distribution of HIV self-tests is a novel approach, and data on the programmatic cost of this approach are limited. We analyse the costs and cost-effectiveness of a self-testing programme. METHODS:Men who have sex with men (MSM) reporting unknown or negative HIV status were enrolled from March to August 2015 into a 12-month trial of HIV self-testing in the United States. Participants were randomly assigned either to the self-testing arm or the control arm. All participants received information on HIV testing services and locations in their community. Self-testing participants received up to four self-tests each quarter, which they could use themselves or distribute to their social network associates. Quarterly follow-up surveys collected testing outcomes, including number of tests used and new HIV diagnoses. Using trial expenditure data, we estimated the cost of implementing a self-testing programme. Primary outcomes of this analysis included total programme implementation costs, cost per self-test completed, cost per person tested, cost per new HIV diagnosis among those self-tested and cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) saved. RESULTS:A total of 2665 men were assigned either to the self-testing arm (n = 1325) or the control arm (n = 1340). HIV testing was reported by 971 self-testing participants who completed a total of 5368 tests. In the control arm, 619 participants completed 1463 HIV tests. The self-testing participants additionally distributed 2864 self-tests to 2152 social network associates. Testing during the trial identified 59 participants and social network associates with newly diagnosed HIV infection in the self-testing arm; 11 control participants were newly diagnosed with HIV. The implementation cost of the HIV self-testing programme was $449,510. The cost per self-test completed, cost per person tested at least once, and incremental cost per new HIV diagnosis was $61, $145 and $9365 respectively. We estimated that self-testing programme potentially averted 3.34 transmissions, saved 14.86 QALYs and nearly $1.6 million lifetime HIV treatment costs. CONCLUSIONS:The HIV self-testing programme identified persons with newly diagnosed HIV infection at low cost, and the programme is cost saving.

Dataset Information

Optimizing Human Immunodeficiency Virus Testing Interventions for Men Who Have Sex With Men in the United States: A Modeling Study.

Publications

Optimizing Human Immunodeficiency Virus Testing Interventions for Men Who Have Sex With Men in the United States: A Modeling Study.

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