"Advances in Early Diagnosis of Perinatal HIV Infection"

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1991. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

"Advances in Early Diagnosis of Perinatal HIV Infection"

Journal of the American Medical Association (12/25/91) Vol. 266, No. 24, P. 3474
Connor, Edward

Abstract: The HIV culture, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and IgA antibody detection have proven significant advances in HIV diagnosis in children who acquire the virus perinatally, writes Edward Connor of the Journal of the American Medical Association. HIV culture and PCR have proven to have excellent specificity and sensitivity for children beyond the first months of life. PCR is able to detect very small quantities of HIV, but it can also result in false positive results. IgA assays have been reported as detecting 6 percent to 17 percent of infected infants at 1 month of age, 57 percent to 67 percent at 3 months, 77 percent to 94 percent at 6 months, and 100 percent after 6 months. However, none of these methods have been tested in the real-time clincal setting, nor have there been large-scale comparison studies. But they aid in early detection of HIV-infection and non-infection in children and would reduce families' emotional and psychological stress, Connor concludes.

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