Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH
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Trop. Med. Int. Health · Jan 2010
Provider-initiated HIV testing for paediatric inpatients and their caretakers is feasible and acceptable.
Early diagnosis of HIV-infected children remains a major challenge in Africa. Children who are hospitalised represent an opportunity for HIV diagnosis and appropriate treatment. We introduced HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) for hospitalised children and their caretakers in Mulago teaching hospital in Uganda to assess its feasibility. ⋯ HCT for hospitalized children and their caretakers identified a significant number of HIV infected children and caretakers. More than half of the children had advanced HIV disease. More intensive efforts are needed to ensure earlier diagnosis and linkage to care for HIV infected children.