title: A rapid HIV testing program for labor and delivery in an inner-city teaching hospital.
abstract: Although perinatal HIV prophylaxis is probably the most successful HIV prevention intervention to date, between 280 and 370 HIV-positive infants are born in the United States each year. A major reason for continuing vertical transmission is that some HIV-infected women are not aware of their positive HIV serostatus before delivery. A rapid HIV testing program was developed and implemented in a labor and delivery suite at an inner-city teaching hospital in a nonresearch setting. Between April 2002 and June 2005, 259 rapid HIV tests were performed. For the first 19 months of the study, the expedited enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed in 62 patients. For the remainder of the study, the OraQuick rapid HIV-1 antibody test was performed in 197 patients. Turnaround times for the ELISA and OraQuick test were 262 minutes and 143 minutes, respectively, a significant difference (P = .002). Four women had positive test results. Voluntary rapid HIV testing is a feasible strategy for detection of HIV seropositivity in pregnant patients who present in a labor and delivery suite with unknown serostatus. This provides an opportunity to administer antiretroviral prophylaxis and to incorporate other obstetric interventions to decrease vertical HIV transmission.
authors.affiliation: Women's Services, HIV/AIDS Medicine, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aaron
authors.forename: Amy B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: Keri
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Monahan
authors.forename: Charles P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Biondo
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000635:transmission; D015497:HIV-1; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D007743:Labor, Obstetric; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States; D014505:Urban Population; D015215:Zidovudine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D015215:Zidovudine