title: Testing for HIV: concise guidance.
abstract: HIV is now a treatable medical condition and the majority of those living with the virus remain fit and well on treatment. Despite this a significant number of people in the UK are unaware of their HIV infection and remain at risk to their own health and of passing their virus unwittingly on to others. Late diagnosis is the most important factor associated with HIV-related morbidity and mortality in the U.K. Testing for HIV infection is often not performed due to misconceptions held by healthcare workers even when it is clinically indicated and this contributes to missed or late diagnosis. This article summarises the recommendations from the U.K. national guidelines for HIV testing 2008. The guidelines provide the information needed to enable any clinician to perform an HIV test within good clinical practice and encourage 'normalisation' of HIV testing. The full version is available at www.bhiva.org/cmsl 222621.asp.
authors.affiliation: University Hospitals Leicester. ap@ctu.mrc.ac.uk
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Palfreeman
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: Ed
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ong
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wardrope
authors.forename: Ewen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Castro-Sanchez
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Peto
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rogstad
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sheather
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gazzard
authors.forename: Deenan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pillay
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Delpech
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lowbury
authors.forename: Russell
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fleet
authors.forename: Yusuf
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Azad
authors.forename: Hermione
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lyall
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hardie
authors.forename: Godwin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Adegbite
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rooney
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Whitehead
mesh_terms: D015492:AIDS Serodiagnosis; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening; D012307:Risk Factors; D006113:United Kingdom