Shilpa Bembalkar

National AIDS Research Insitute · Epoidemiology & Biostatistics

Background Accurate estimates of incremental cost (IC) attributable to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) provide information of immense public health importance to the policy makers. Here, we present the IC from patient perspective for treating antimicrobial-resistant pathogens in India. Methods This cohort study was conducted in eight hospitals incl...

Background HIV-1 Viral load (VL) measures efficiency of the antiretroviral therapy (ART) after treatment initiation and helps to diagnose virological failures at an early stage. Current VL assays require sophisticated laboratory facilities. As well as there are other challenges pertaining to insufficient laboratory access, cold-chain management and...

Early Infant Diagnosis of HIV infection services are crucial for managing the perinatally acquired HIV infection. Assessing the performance of the EID services and its underlying determinants is important for the National AIDS Control Program, India. The objectives of this study were to find out access to HIV testing, the timeliness of the testing...

Background Early Infant Diagnosis was launched in India in 2010 and its effect on the diagnosis of HIV-exposed infants needs to be assessed. The present study was done to find out the median age at DBS sample collection for early infant diagnosis and its trend over years, the median age at diagnosis of HIV among the HIV-exposed infants with DNA PCR...

Background India plans elimination of HIV-Mother-to-Child-Transmission in 2020. Targets include >95% coverage of Antenatal-care (ANC) and HIV-testing. In 2015-16, while 43% of the estimated Indian pregnant-women (PW) received HIV-tests, one state reported >95% testing. Indian public-health-care is a three-tiered system from primary-level sub-centre...

Objective: To determine the reference ranges of various lymphocyte subsets in healthy Indian children. Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Setting: Four centers in India representing four geographical regions. Participants: 1104 children from neonatal age to 18 years of age. Measurement: One time measurement of absolute count and pe...

Introduction: Mental retardation is a neurodevelopmental disability of children. In this pilot studythe authors have applied Yoga Prana Vidya system protocols for a pilot sample of mentally retardedchildren to study the effects and improvements in their being. Objectives: To assess (1)improvements of social behaviour, cognitive abilities and IQ, (2...

Context: The clinical and prevention benefits of early initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) have led to the adoption of test and treat policy for HIV. Early diagnosis of HIV is crucial for maximal benefits from ART. Aims: This study aims to assess trends in CD4 cell counts at diagnosis and determinants of late presentation. Settings and d...

Introduction The HIV sentinel surveillance [HSS] conducted in 2010–11 among female sex workers [FSW] in the state of Maharashtra, India provided an opportunity to assess characteristics of different types of FSWs and their HIV risk. It is important for India’s National AIDS Control Program, to understand the differences in vulnerability among these...

One of the crucial determinants for successful administration of lactobacilli to the vaginal niche is the use of appropriate Lactobacillus species. In this cross-sectional study 54 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative and 76 HIV-positive antiretroviral treatment-naïve women were evaluated for culturable vaginal lactobacilli and their associa...

Under India’s National AIDS Control Program (NACP), WHO recommended strategy of using three rapid tests is adopted for diagnosis of HIV in an asymptomatic individual. Since the NACP has a stringent kit evaluation procedure and due to the availability of newer third generation Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) it may be possible to adapt two test strate...

Models are designed to provide evidence for strategic program planning by examining the impact of different interventions on projected HIV incidence. We employed the Goals Model to fit the HIV epidemic curves in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu states of India where HIV epidemic is considered to have matured and in a declining phase. Inpu...

Background: Sustained or consistent use of condoms by men remains a challenge. A study was carried out to identify factors associated with failure to use condoms consistently by men attending STD clinics in Pune, India. Method: Among 14137 STI clinic attendees, 8360 HIV sero-negative men were enrolled in a cohort study. The changes in condom usa...

Background & objectives: Improving quality of life (QOL) of healthy people living with HIV (PLHIV) is critical needing home-based, long-term strategy. Sudarshan Kriya yoga (SKY) intervention is acknowledged for its positive impact on health. It is hypothesised that SKY would improve PLHIV′s QOL, justifying an evaluation. Methods: In this open labe...

Background & objectives: The treatment outcomes under national antiretroviral therapy (ART) programme are being evaluated in some ART centres in the country. We carried out this study to analyze the impact of first line antiretroviral therapy in HIV infected patients attending a free ART roll out national programme clinic in Pune, India. Methods:...

Oral candidiasis caused by Candida albicans is recognized as one of the most frequent opportunistic infections in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals. The overall severity and chronicity of oral candidiasis has been attributed exclusively to the HIV-induced immune deficiency of the affected individuals but not to the virulence f...

Retention is critical in HIV prevention programs and clinical research. We studied retention in the three modeled scenarios of primary prevention programs, cohort studies and clinical trials to identify predictors of retention. Men attending Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) clinics (n = 10, 801) were followed in a cohort study spanning over a t...

Candida spp., along with other microorganisms are usually found in the normal flora of the human oral mucosa. However in HIV-infected individuals these yeasts can become opportunistic pathogens and lead to mucosal infections. The transformation from a harmless commensal to a virulent pathogen under conditions of dysfunctional host defense system is...