Delays in HIV-1 infant polymerase chain reaction testing may leave children without confirmed diagnoses in the Western Cape province, South Africa

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dc.contributor.authorMahlakwane, Kamela L.en_ZA
dc.contributor.authorPreiser, Wolfgangen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorNkosi, Nokwazien_ZA
dc.contributor.authorNaidoo, Nasheenen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorVan Zyl, Gerten_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2022-10-14T13:29:47Zen_ZA
dc.date.available2022-10-14T13:29:47Zen_ZA
dc.date.issued2022-06en_ZA
dc.descriptionCITATION: Mahlakwane, K. L. et al. 2022. African Journal of Laboratory Medicine, 11(1):1485, doi:10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1485.en_ZA
dc.descriptionThe original publication is available at https://ajlmonline.orgen_ZA
dc.description.abstractBackground: Early diagnosis and confirmation of HIV infection in newborns is crucial for expedited initiation of antiretroviral therapy. Confirmatory testing must be done for all children with a reactive HIV PCR result. There is no comprehensive data on confirmatory testing and HIV PCR test request rejections at National Health Laboratory Service laboratories in South Africa. Objective: This study assessed the metrics of routine infant HIV PCR testing at the Tygerberg Hospital Virology Laboratory, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa, including the proportion of rejected test requests, turn-around time (TAT), and rate of confirmatory testing. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed laboratory-based data on all HIV PCR tests performed on children ≤ 24 months old (n = 43 346) and data on rejected HIV PCR requests (n = 1479) at the Tygerberg virology laboratory over two years (2017–2019). Data from sample collection to release of results were analysed to assess the TAT and follow-up patterns. Results: The proportion of rejected HIV PCR requests was 3.3%; 83.9% of these were rejected for various pre-analytical reasons. Most of the test results (89.2%) met the required 96-h TAT. Of the reactive initial test results, 53.5% had a follow-up sample tested, of which 93.1% were positive. Of the initial indeterminate results, 74.7% were negative on follow-up testing. Conclusion: A high proportion of HIV PCR requests were rejected for pre-analytical reasons. The high number of initial reactive tests without evidence of follow-up suggests that a shorter TAT is required to allow confirmatory testing before children are discharged.en_ZA
dc.description.urihttps://ajlmonline.org/index.php/ajlm/article/view/1485en_ZA
dc.description.versionPublisher's versionen_ZA
dc.format.extent7 pagesen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMahlakwane, K. L. et al. 2022. African Journal of Laboratory Medicine, 11(1):1485, doi:10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1485.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn2225-2010 (online)en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn2225-2002 (print)en_ZA
dc.identifier.otherdoi:10.4102/ajlm.v11i1.1485en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/125770en_ZA
dc.language.isoen_ZAen_ZA
dc.publisherAOSISen_ZA
dc.rights.holderAuthors retain copyrighten_ZA
dc.subjectPolymerase chain reactionen_ZA
dc.subjectHIV infectionsen_ZA
dc.subjectNewborn infantsen_ZA
dc.subjectHIV-positive childrenen_ZA
dc.titleDelays in HIV-1 infant polymerase chain reaction testing may leave children without confirmed diagnoses in the Western Cape province, South Africaen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA
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