Does antiretroviral therapy use affect the accuracy of HIV rapid diagnostic assays? Experience from a demographic health and surveillance site in rural South Africa.

ABSTRACT: Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are the mainstay of HIV diagnosis in the developing world but might have poor sensitivity among individuals taking antiretroviral therapy (ART). We leveraged a home-based HIV testing program linked to clinical data to compare the sensitivity of RDTs between individuals using versus not using ART. Field workers tested 6802 individuals using 2 HIV RDTs, which were compared to a single HIV immunoassay tested on dried blood spots. Approximately 5% (371/6802) tested positive by immunoassay, of whom 157 (42%) were currently on ART. The sensitivity of the Abon RDT among those never versus currently on ART was 91.6% (95% CI 88.3-94.3) and 96.6% (95% CI 88.3-94.3), respectively, and 95.4% (95% CI 92.8-97.3) versus 99.3% (95% CI 95.2-99.7) for the Advanced Quality assay

SUBMITTER: Siedner MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7262582 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature