title: Overcoming the challenge of diagnosis of early HIV infection: a stepping stone to optimal patient management.
abstract: Prompt identification of individuals during the highly infectious acute or early stage of HIV infection has implications for both patient management and public health interventions. The studies on natural history of HIV infection over the last three decades have uncovered several clinical features and virological markers to diagnose early infection. However, the brevity of the acute symptomatic phase combined with the difficulty in identifying non-specific signs and symptoms poses diagnosis of early HIV infection as a remaining challenge. Furthermore, underestimation of risky behavior in the absence of detailed patient history and possible concurrent sexually transmitted infections render the diagnosis of recent infection difficult. Herein, we focus on the multifaceted clinical manifestations and the best usage of technological advancements to detect early HIV infection. Early diagnosis of HIV infection contributes to further improving patient outcomes and preventing transmission.
authors.affiliation: a 1 Division of Hematology and Chronic Viral Illness Service, McGill University Health Centre: Glen site, Research Institute, Montréal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Routy
authors.affiliation: b 2 Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre: Glen site, Montréal, QC, Canada.|c 3 Department of Infectious Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: b 2 Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre: Glen site, Montréal, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Vikram
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mehraj
mesh_terms: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015415:Biomarkers; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: HIV transmission; antiretroviral therapy; early HIV Infection; early HIV diagnosis; immunoassays; primary HIV Infection