Document 2693
 DOCN  M94A2693
 TI    Evaluation of a rapid and simple HIV-1 assay.
 DT    9412
 AU    Zhang X; Constantine NT; Dept. Pathology, Univ. of Maryland Sch. of
       Med., Balto.
 SO    Int Conf AIDS. 1994 Aug 7-12;10(1):246 (abstract no. PB0413). Unique
       Identifier : AIDSLINE ICA10/94369882
 AB    OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the performance of the Health Test HIV-1 rapid
       assay when testing sera from inner-city hospital patients in the US, and
       to determine concordance with a routine FDA-licensed ELISA. METHODS: 850
       serum samples were collected from sequential cases received at the
       Clinical Immunology Laboratory at the University of Maryland Medical
       System/Hospital in Baltimore. All samples were centrifuged, stored at 4
       degrees C, and tested using an HIV-1/2 ELISA (Genetic Systems) and the
       Health Test HIV-1 assay (Akers Laboratories, USA) as recommended by the
       manufacturers. Any samples yielding a reactive result were retested by
       the respective test and confirmed by Western blot (BioRad). Samples
       which exhibited discrepant results were retested by all assays to ensure
       that technical error had not occurred. RESULTS: Of the 850 sera, 56
       (6.6%) produced reactive results by both tests and were confirmed by
       Western blot (WB). There were 11 false positive results and one positive
       sample which was difficult to read by the Health Test as compared with
       ELISA and WB. Except for the one sample that was difficult to interpret,
       the sensitivity was 100%, and the specificity was 98.8%. DISCUSSION AND
       CONCLUSIONS: The Health Test HIV-1 assay is a very simple, rapid, and
       economical test for detecting HIV antibodies. It requires only one
       minute for completion and the test strips can be kept for permanent
       records. We are currently investigating the cause of the one sample
       which was difficult to interpret.
 DE    AIDS Serodiagnosis/*METHODS  Baltimore  Blotting, Western  Comparative
       Study  Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/*METHODS  Human  HIV
       Antibodies/*BLOOD  HIV Seropositivity/*DIAGNOSIS/IMMUNOLOGY
       HIV-1/*IMMUNOLOGY  Predictive Value of Tests  *Urban Population  MEETING
       ABSTRACT

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).