14th International AIDS Conference Barcelona, Spain — July 7-12, 2002

Int Conf AIDS. 2002 Jul 7-12;14:Abstract No. D11326

BACKGROUND: Prevention of mother to child transmission is paramount in areas where heterosexual transmission is of increasing importance.

METHODS: A retrospective survey of all pregnant women admitted to a 700 bed hospital in the city of Lima. From January 1998 to December 200, data from clinical records, laboratory reports were reviewed over 4 years, in order to assess the course of pregnancy, use of a short course (1 month) of prophylactic Zidovudine and the method of delivery (vaginal or C-section). A trained team of midwives were responsible for covering the delivery room 24 hours a day. Routine tests included a standard ELISA followed by a Western Blot. A DOT ELISA testing was introduced in 2000 for women without prenatal care coming to the hospital in labor.

RESULTS: For this 4 year period, prevalences for HIV in pregnant women were as follows: 0.19% (8/4126) for 1998, 0.23% (10/4336) for 1999, 0.25% (11/4273) for 2000, and 0.36% (14/3804) for 2001. Prenatal care, including a short course of AZT prophylaxis was provided for 36/43 women with HIV. In 31/37 pregnancies with prenatal care, C-sections were performed without complications. Diagnosis of HIV in the delivery room using a DOT ELISA was done in the remaining 6 women, in 4/6 a C-section was performed without complications. In all 43 cases, babies received AZT for 6 weeks and milk formula. An additional group of 4 pregnant women with false positive results were treated as if they were HIV positive, until a Western Blot result was obtained.

Conclusion: The combination of trained health workers covering the delivery room 24 hours, DOT ELISA testing and quick access to drugs can improve the implementation of prevention of mother to child transmission. An year by year increasing prevalence of HIV in pregnant women was also observed.

Presenting author: Aldo Vivar

1Loayza Hospital, Carlos Gonzales 251, Urb Maranga, San Miguel, Lima 32, Peru.

2Loayza Hospital, Lima, Peru.

3Quarantine, Inc, Lima, Peru.

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