Diagnosing acute HIV infection at point of care: a retrospective analysis of the sensitivity and specificity of a fourth-generation point-of-care test for detection of HIV core protein p24

摘要

Objectives Detection of acute HIV infection is vital in preventing onward transmission. HIV point-of-care testing (POCT) has improved uptake of HIV testing but has been limited to third-generation assays, which only detect chronic HIV infection. Previous evaluation of the fourth-generation Alere Determine HIV-1/2 Ag/Ab Combo POCT showed only 50% sensitivity for HIV core protein p24 (p24 antigen) detection, which is suboptimal for diagnosis of acute HIV infection with limited advantage over third-generation POCT. We aimed to assess the sensitivity of the new Alere HIV Combo POCT to detect acute HIV infection.