Question

A 34-year-old pregnant female discovered that her husband tested positive for HIV. She was never screened for HIV infection earlier. She shares this information to her physician during delivery. Immediate screening of the infant with molecular methods such as qPCR yielded positive results.

a. Explain the algorithm for laboratory diagnosis for screening and determination of true positive for the newborns?

b. If the results are true positives, how should the infant be monitored?

c. If the initial screening at birth yielded negative results for the infant, should the testing be concluded? Explain your reasoning.

Answer 1

(A) Diagnosis of HIV infection in infants is aided by HIV culture or DNA/RNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR); positive results are confirmed by repeating the test. In suspected cases, HIV testing should occur in the newborn period (ie, before the infant is 48 h old), at age 1-2 months, and again at age 3-6 months.

(B) Children get pretty much the same treatment as adults: a combination of medications called ART (antiretroviral therapy).

HIV infection can be presumptively excluded in nonbreastfed infants with two or more negative virologic tests (one at age ≥2 weeks and one at age ≥4 weeks) or one negative virologic test (i.e., negative NAT [RNA or DNA]) at age ≥8 weeks, or one negative HIV antibody test at age ≥6 months.

(C)HIV testing should occur in the newborn period (ie, before the infant is 48 h old), at age 1-2 months, and again at age 3-6 months.It is necessary for the infant for no risk occur throughout the life and developmental processs.