Point-of-care HIV testing: a review of the clinical and cost-effectiveness and diagnostic accuracy
Richard M, Banks R
Record ID 32011001282
English
Authors' recommendations:
Rapid HIV tests appear to have acceptable diagnostic accuracy as both sensitivity and specificity are close to 100% in most studies and appear to be a cost-effective alternative in identifying newly diagnosed patients with HIV. Based on the results of several studies, Rapid HIV tests appear to be an acceptable alternative to current standard HIV testing methods, especially when providing an immediate result is considered important, such as labour and delivery when the mother’s HIV status is unknown, occupational exposure, or when there is concern a patient will not return for their results.On the other hand, it is important to consider the negative implications of switching to a POC testing strategy. The studies indicated that false negatives and false positives do occur, and it is important that anyone implementing the use of Rapid HIV tests prepare for such events. As the healthcare provider administering the POC test may be responsible for providing the results, policies and procedures must be in place to ensure they are adequately trained and prepared to provide patients with test results, especially initially reactive results.
Details
Project Status:
Completed
Year Published:
2009
English language abstract:
An English language summary is available
Publication Type:
Not Assigned
Country:
Canada
MeSH Terms
- Cost-Benefit Analysis
- Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures
- Point-of-Care Systems
Contact
Organisation Name:
Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
Contact Address:
600-865 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1S 5S8 Canada. Tel: +1 613 226 2553; Fax: +1 613 226 5392;
Contact Name:
requests@cadth.ca
Contact Email:
requests@cadth.ca
Copyright:
Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH)
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.