Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1996. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Associated Press Saturday, September 14, 1996 5:14 pm EDT
Erich Smith, Associated Press Writer
In addition to usual hours-long delays, some hospitals run test samples only twice per month, according to a study in Sunday's issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Faster test results would lead to almost immediate counseling for patients found to have HIV, the AIDS-causing virus. Typically, many patients who get tested never return to learn their test results, let alone get counseling.
"Rapid tests ... could make a big difference in controlling this worldwide epidemic," said study author Dr. Kathleen Irwin of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Only one reliable rapid HIV test is available to U.S. labs, although 14 have been developed in the United States, according to an editorial accompanying the study.
The cost and time of winning regulatory approval from the Food and Drug Administration, the difficulty in obtaining patents and the perception of a small market have discouraged manufacturers, the editorial said.
"Manufacturers ... should be encouraged to seek approval of their products in the United States so that two rapid HIV tests could be used in combination to allow for more precise counseling," the editorial said.
In the study, the rapid test was compared to a standard test on 837 patients at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center in New York from 1992 to 1994.
Both tests found 45 positive results. Although the rapid test found seven "weak" positives later determined to be negative results, researchers still consider the rapid test very accurate.
Of the study patients, just 57.5 percent returned to learn their test results. Researchers were not able to measure how many patients would have stayed for counseling if rapid test results had been reported to them immediately.
Even if the results could have been reported, a second test would be needed to confirm the positive results, Irwin said.
"But the advantage of using the rapid test is that people testing positive can be counseled that this is the result of a preliminary test, and they are more likely to come back for the results of the confirmatory test," she said.
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