HIV Misdiagnosis: A root cause analysis leading to Improvements in HIV Diagnosis and Patient Care

Since 1985, the cornerstone for the diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has been the detection of antibodies against HIV. The standard diagnostic algorithm has consisted of a high sensitivity screening test for antibodies to HIV using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) followed by a high specificity confirmatory test, which often has been a Western Blot (WB) [1,2]. The reason for this two-stage testing format is due to the low positive predictive value (PPV) observed in screening tests when used in low-prevalence populations despite the exquisite sensitivity and specificity reported in the latest generation enzyme immunoassays (EIAs).

Source: Journal of Clinical Virology - October 9, 2017 Category: Virology Authors: Raynell Lang, Carmen Charlton, Brenda Beckthold, Kiana Kadivar, Stephanie Lavoie, Doug Caswell, Paul Levett, Greg Horsman, John Kim, M. John Gill Source Type: research