BackgroundThis trial aims at testing the efficacy of weekly reminder and motivational text messages, compared to usual care in improving adherence to Highly Active Antiretroviral Treatment in patients attending a clinic in Yaoundé, Cameroon.Methods and DesignThis is a single-centered randomized controlled single-blinded trial. A central computer generated randomization list will be generated using random block sizes. Allocation will be determined by sequentially numbered sealed opaque envelopes. 198 participants will either receive the mobile phone text message or usual care. Our hypothesis is that weekly motivational text messages can improve adherence to Highly Active Antiretroviral Treatment and other clinical outcomes in the control group by acting as a reminder, a cue to action and opening communication channels. Data will be collected at baseline, three months and six months. A blinded program secretary will send out text messages and record delivery.Our primary outcomes are adherence measured by the visual analogue scale, self report, and pharmacy refill data. Our secondary outcomes are clinical: weight, body mass index, opportunistic infections, all cause mortality and retention; biological: Cluster Designation 4 count and viral load; and quality of life. Analysis will be by intention-to-treat. Covariates and subgroups will be taken into account.DiscussionThis trial investigates the potential of SMS motivational reminders to improve adherence to Highly Active Antiretroviral Treatment in Cameroon. The intervention targets non-adherence due to forgetfulness and other forms of non-adherence.Trial RegistrationPan-African Clinical Trials Registry PACTR201011000261458 http://clinicaltrials.gov/ NCT01247181

BackgroundThe benefits of antiretroviral therapy (ART) cannot be experienced if they are not taken as prescribed. Yet, not all causes of non-adherence are dependent on the patient. Having to pay for medication reduces adherence rates. Non- adherence has severe public health implications which must be addressed locally and globally. This paper seeks to describe the trends in adherence rates reported in Cameroon and to investigate the determinants of adherence to ART in the Cameroon Mobile Phone SMS (CAMPS) trial.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review of electronic databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, CINAHL, EMBASE and PSYCINFO) for publications on adherence to ART in Cameroon (from January 1999 to May 2012) and described the trend in reported adherence rates and the factors associated with adherence. Data were extracted in duplicate. We used multivariable analyses on the baseline data for 200 participants in the CAMPS trial to determine the factors associated with adherence in four models using different measures of adherence (more than 90% or 95% on the visual analogue scale, no missed doses and a composite measure: 100% on the visual analogue scale, no missed doses and all pills taken on time).ResultsWe identified nine studies meeting our inclusion criteria. Adherence to ART in Cameroon has risen steadily between 2000 and 2010, corresponding to reductions in the cost of medication. The factors associated with adherence to ART in Cameroon are grouped into patient, medication and disease related factors. We also identified factors related to the health system and the patient-provider relationship. In the CAMPS trial, education, side effects experienced and number of reminder methods were found to improve adherence, but only using multiple reminder methods was associated with better adherence in all the regression models (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] 4.11, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.89, 8.93; p<0.001; model IV).ConclusionsReducing the cost of ART is an important aspect of ensuring adequate adherence rates. Using multiple reminder methods may have a cumulative effect on adherence to ART, but should be investigated further.

A prospective 6-month study in Yaounde evaluated 49 children aged from 2 months to 8 years, hospitalized with bacterial meningitis. They were randomly assigned to one of two initial treatment groups, either an ampicillin-chloramphenicol combination (group A) or chloramphenicol alone (group B). The majority of patients were infected with Haemophilus influenzae, and the majority of deaths were caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. Altogether, 17.9% of Haemophilus influenzae isolates were ampicillin-resistant and 3.6% chloramphenicol-resistant. We found no isolate resistant to both antibiotics. Response to both treatments was similar in both groups. The theoretical risk of treatment failure with ampicillin was higher than with the ampicillin-chloramphenicol combination (p less than 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the risk of treatment failure with the ampicillin-chloramphenicol combination and the risk with chloramphenicol alone (p less than 0.05), but the latter was increased by the occurrence of chloramphenicol-resistant isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae (11.1%). Although treatment with an ampicillin-chloramphenicol combination is four times more expensive than treatment with chloramphenicol alone, costwise it is also one-quarter the price of a third-generation cephalosporin (moxalactam). At present, the ampicillin-chloramphenicol combination can be suggested as the first choice for initial treatment considering both the epidemiological data and the cost/efficiency ratio in the area of Yaounde.

Le Programme Africain de lutte contre l'Onchocercose (APOC) fut lancé en 1995, comme complément au brillant programme de lutte contre l'onchocercose en Afrique de l'Ouest. En 2011, plus de 80 millions de personnes ont bénéficié de cette intervention grâce à la contribution de 268 718 Distributeurs Communautaires (DC). Ses résultats significatifs occultent le rôle des femmes DC dans cette lutte cette maladie. L'objectif de cette analyse est de déterminer la contribution des femmes DC dans le traitement de l'onchocercose sous directive communautaire en Afrique sub-saharienne, et d’évaluer leur acceptation dans ledit programme. Comme stratégie de recherche, nous avons identifié toutes les études pertinentes de Janvier 1995 à Décembre 2012. Des recherches ont été effectuées dans les bases de données suivantes: Medline, Embase (Excerpta Medica Database), CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), LILAS (Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences). Nous avons également consulté les sites d'APOC et de l'OMS AFRO. Deux auteurs ont indépendamment évalué la pertinence des articles potentiels à l'aide des critères d'inclusion et d'exclusion bien définis. Six (6) des 25 études ont rempli les critères d'inclusion. Une étude a montré que 81% des populations où il y avait des femmes DC ont reçu l'Ivermectine par rapport à 78% des villages où n'exerçaient pas de femmes DC. Une autre étude a montré qu'il y a eu une prise de conscience croissante dans les IDC en faveur de l'acceptation de la participation des femmes à la distribution communautaire de l'Ivermectine. De plus, 70% des membres de la communauté interrogés dans certaines zones endémiques, ont déclaré que les femmes étaient plus engagées, persuasives et plus patientes que les hommes dans la distribution de l'Ivermectine. Au terme de cette étude, les évaluations qui ont été effectuées donnent à penser que les femmes peuvent jouer un rôle important dans la lutte contre l'onchocercose. Toutefois, des préoccupations subsistent quant aux considérations de mise en œuvre en faveur dudit rôle. Les conclusions ont aussi des implications pour la recherche future sur l’élaboration d'un cadre d’évaluation et de comparaison des interventions impliquant les DCs hommes et femmes.