Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date. I recently posted a question about my daughter possibly being exposed to a woman's blood in a store. Well, my daughters' Dr. ordered a HIV DNA PCR test for her and I'm curious about this particular test. I've heard the FDA doesn't approve it for diagnostic procedures and this sort of has me concerned that if by chance that my baby did in fact contract HIV from this encounter, even though you feel the chances of that would be remote, I still want to feel some peace of mind that at least she is getting good testing. My daughter is only 13mo old and I'm not sure why she didn't just order her to take the standard antibody test which I hear has to be followed up after a PCR anyway.
Could it be because my daughter is under the age of 18mo and might not be producing her own antibodies? How accurate is the PCR and how long after a potential exposure do you have to wait to show if your positive or negative? Do you think this particular test would most likely show if my baby is infected or not?
Once again thank you for your time. Your website is awesome!!
Again, the chances of infection by the scenario that you describe are so remote that I would not be at all concerned about HIV infection. My only concern is your state of mind.
I do not know why your doctor would begin testing with a PCR, and I have some trouble following the logic of your note.
Certainly, your baby should be making antibodies by 18 months, and it would be standard procedure to order an Elisa/Western blot test first. Perhaps, he is concerned because you are testing so close to the time of exposure, but even then, an Elisa/WB should be done for a baseline value.
PCR is not yet clinically approved by the FDA. It has not approved this test for the diagnosis of HIV infection, although it is occasionally used in specific settings as an aid to diagnosis. Full FDA approval often comes long after a test is clinically adopted. Government is seldom fast, is it?
I think you should be asking these questions of your personal physcian.
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