CDC says rapid test for HIV would
ensure more people get results
Friday, March 27, 1998
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The Centers for Disease Control say using a rapid, 10-minute test for determining HIV status
could result in an additional half million more Americans learning whether they have the virus.
For years, the problem has been that people go to clinics to have an HIV test, and then because
getting the results can take up to two weeks, fail to return to find out their status. About 25
million Americans seek an HIV test each year and 2.5 million of the tests are done at publicly
funded counseling and testing, or CT, programs.
CDC studies found of those going to a CT program in 1995, 25% who tested HIV positive and
33% who tested negative did not return to learn of the results. Use of the commonly available
rapid, Single Use Diagnostic System HIV-1 Test would have meant 697,495 more people, more
than 8,000 of whom were HIV positive, would have learned of their HIV status and could have
received immediate counseling and services without having to make a second trip to the clinic.
"The benefits of using the rapid test were greatest at sites such as sexually transmitted disease
clinics, where the lowest percentage of persons returned for results," the CDC said.
The CDC and the Assn. of State and Territorial Public Health Laboratory Directors met in Atlanta
last October to talk about testing methods and agreed that it was best if physicians had
confirmatory testing done on HIV-positive results prior to informing patients, even though that
would take additional time.
"However, they agreed that exceptions are warranted when the health benefit of reporting HIV
rapid test results offsets the potential risk for reporting false-positive rapid test results," the CDC
said. "Rapid HIV tests also can assist health care providers who must make immediate decisions
about initiating HIV prophylaxis (e.g. caring for health care workers after occupational exposures
and for pregnant women in labor)."
The CDC said, however, physicians who elect to inform patients of rapid test HIV positive
results prior to confirmation must be careful to use cautionary language, such as "a good chance of
being infected" or "very likely infected" and explain the necessity of a follow-up test.
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