Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Operational feasibility of using whole blood in the rapid HIV testing algorithm of a resource-limited settings like Bangladesh

Operational feasibility of using whole blood in the rapid HIV testing algorithm of a... Background Serum-based rapid HIV testing algorithm in Bangladesh constitutes operational challenge to scaleup HIV testing and counselling (HTC) in the country. This study explored the operational feasibility of using whole blood as alternative to serum for rapid HIV testing in Bangladesh. Methods Whole blood specimens were collected from two study groups. The groups included HIV-positive patients ( n = 200) and HIV-negative individuals ( n = 200) presenting at the reference laboratory in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The specimens were subjected to rapid HIV tests using the national algorithm with A1 = Alere Determine (United States), A2 = Uni-Gold (Ireland), and A3 = First Response (India). The sensitivity and specificity of the test results, and the operational cost were compared with current serum-based testing. Results The sensitivities (95% of confidence interval (CI)) for A1, A2, and A3 tests using whole blood were 100% (CI: 99.1–100%), 100% (CI: 99.1–100%), and 97% (CI: 96.4–98.2%), respectively, and specificities of all test kits were 100% (CI: 99.1–100%). Significant ( P < 0.05) reduction in the cost of establishing HTC centre and consumables by 94 and 61%, respectively, were observed. The cost of administration and external quality assurance reduced by 39 and 43%, respectively. Overall, there was a 36% cost reduction in total operational cost of rapid HIV testing with blood when compared with serum. Conclusion Considering the similar sensitivity and specificity of the two specimens, and significant cost reduction, rapid HIV testing with whole blood is feasible. A review of the national HIV rapid testing algorithm with whole blood will contribute toward improving HTC coverage in Bangladesh. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS Wolters Kluwer Health

Operational feasibility of using whole blood in the rapid HIV testing algorithm of a resource-limited settings like Bangladesh

Download PDF
8 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/wolters-kluwer-health/operational-feasibility-of-using-whole-blood-in-the-rapid-hiv-testing-0AzG3gi05m

References

References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.

Publisher
Wolters Kluwer Health
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
Subject
SUPPLEMENT ARTICLE
ISSN
1746-630X
eISSN
1746-6318
DOI
10.1097/COH.0000000000000266
pmid
26945143
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Background Serum-based rapid HIV testing algorithm in Bangladesh constitutes operational challenge to scaleup HIV testing and counselling (HTC) in the country. This study explored the operational feasibility of using whole blood as alternative to serum for rapid HIV testing in Bangladesh. Methods Whole blood specimens were collected from two study groups. The groups included HIV-positive patients ( n = 200) and HIV-negative individuals ( n = 200) presenting at the reference laboratory in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The specimens were subjected to rapid HIV tests using the national algorithm with A1 = Alere Determine (United States), A2 = Uni-Gold (Ireland), and A3 = First Response (India). The sensitivity and specificity of the test results, and the operational cost were compared with current serum-based testing. Results The sensitivities (95% of confidence interval (CI)) for A1, A2, and A3 tests using whole blood were 100% (CI: 99.1–100%), 100% (CI: 99.1–100%), and 97% (CI: 96.4–98.2%), respectively, and specificities of all test kits were 100% (CI: 99.1–100%). Significant ( P < 0.05) reduction in the cost of establishing HTC centre and consumables by 94 and 61%, respectively, were observed. The cost of administration and external quality assurance reduced by 39 and 43%, respectively. Overall, there was a 36% cost reduction in total operational cost of rapid HIV testing with blood when compared with serum. Conclusion Considering the similar sensitivity and specificity of the two specimens, and significant cost reduction, rapid HIV testing with whole blood is feasible. A review of the national HIV rapid testing algorithm with whole blood will contribute toward improving HTC coverage in Bangladesh.

Journal

Current Opinion in HIV and AIDS – Wolters Kluwer Health

Published: Mar 1, 2016

There are no references for this article.