What is already known about this topic? In China, patients with human immunodeficiency virus are diagnosed at the CDC and then referred to hospitals for antiretroviral therapy (ART), but treatment delays persist. Previous studies have reported overall delay in time from diagnosis to ART initiation without identifying where delays occur. What is added by this report? A Nanjing cohort study showed that hospital delays were almost eliminated with integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI)-based regimens: 87.9% of patients initiated ART within 7 days of their first hospital visit. However, the main bottleneck remains CDC referral, as 49.8% of patients attended the hospital within 7 days of HIV confirmation. What are the implications for public health practice? Shortening the CDC-to-hospital interval via stronger linkage and equitable INSTI access is critical for achieving rapid ART.
Chenyu et al. (Thu,) studied this question.