Acute HIV infection in a critically ill 15-year-old male

A More Comprehensive Clinical and Laboratory Characterization of 61 Acute HIV Infection Patients in Southwest China

Acute HIV infection (AHI), i.e., the early stage of HIV infection, plays an important role in immune system failure and HIV transmission, but most AHI patients are missed due to their non-specific symptoms. To facilitate the identification of patients with high AHI risk and reduction of missed diagnosis, we characterized 61 AHI patients in a Southwest China hospital with 4300 beds; specifically, we characterized their general clinical characteristics, evolution in results of a novel HIV screening assay called Elecsys^® HIV Duo, and by programming, we analyzed the ability of all routine laboratory tests (e.g., routine blood analysis) to identify AHI patients. Among 61 AHI patients, 85.2% were male and the median age was 42 (interquartile range, 25-62) years. A total of 61.9% of patients visit the emergency department first during AHI. Clinical presentation of AHI patients included fever, fatigue, chills, rash, and various respiratory, digestive, and nervous system symptoms. Two of three results from Elecsys^® HIV Duo show clear evolution trends: HIV P24 antigen decreased while HIV antibody increased in consecutive samples of nearly all patients. High fluorescence lymphocytes have a very high positive likelihood ratio (LR+) of 10.33 and a relatively high "rate of out-of-range tests" of 56.8% (21 in 37 patients who received this test had a result outside the reference range). In addition, we identified more than ten tests with LR+ greater than two. In summary, the emergency department is important for AHI screening. The evolution of HIV P24 Ag and HIV Ab and those laboratory tests with a high "rate of out-of-range tests" or high LR+ may aid the AHI identification and missed diagnosis reduction.

Acute Infections, Cost per Infection and Turnaround Time in Three United States Hospital Laboratories Using Fourth-Generation Antigen-Antibody Human Immunodeficiency Virus Immunoassays

Background. To improve clinical and public health outcomes through early human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) detection, fourth-generation antigen/antibody immunoassay (4IA) and supplemental testing results must be returned rapidly.

Methods. We examined HIV testing data at Harborview Medical Center (HMC), Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), which used 4IA and supplemental antibody and nucleic acid tests (NATs). At MGH and MUSC, HIV-1 Western blot (WB) and HIV-2 testing were conducted at a reference laboratory. We compared time from specimen collection to laboratory result for established (positive WB) and acute infections (reactive 4IA, negative/indeterminate WB, detectable NAT), and we calculated testing cost per positive-test result.

Results. From 3731 (MUSC) to 19 774 (MGH) tests were conducted; 0.01% (MGH) to 0.05% (HMC) were acute infections. Each laboratory had reactive 4IA, WB-negative, or indeterminate specimens without NAT (ie, potential acute infections). Time to result was 1.5 (HMC) to 5.2 days (MGH) for acute and 1.0 (HMC) to 5.2 days (MGH) for established infections. Costs were $1054 (MGH) to $1521 (MUSC).

Conclusions. Conducting supplemental testing in-house lowered turnaround times, which may be further reduced with rapid HIV-1/HIV-2 differentiation tests. Hospitals may benefit from quantitative NATs not requiring physician orders, so all potential acute infections receive NAT.