Incorrectly diagnosing children as HIV-infected : experiences from a large paediatric antiretroviral therapy site in South Africa

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dc.contributor.authorFeucht, Ute Dagmar
dc.contributor.authorThomas, Ute Dagmar
dc.contributor.authorForsyth, Brian William Cameron
dc.contributor.authorKruger, Mariana
dc.date.accessioned2013-07-03T08:19:18Z
dc.date.available2013-07-03T08:19:18Z
dc.date.issued2012-08
dc.descriptionThe original publication is available at http://www.sajch.org.za/index.php/SAJCH
dc.description.abstractObjective. To assess the extent to which children may be falsely diagnosed as HIV-infected, using data from an antiretroviral therapy (ART) site in Pretoria, South Africa. Methods. This was a retrospective patient record review of all ART-naïve children referred to Kalafong hospital’s paediatric HIV clinic between April 2004 and March 2010, with detailed review of those found to be HIV-uninfected. Results. There were 1 526 patient files analysed, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.01:1 and median age at first visit of 20 months (range 26 days - 17.5 years). Nearly half (n=715; 47%) of the children were aged <18 months. Fifty-one children were found to be HIV-uninfected after repeated diagnostic tests. Incorrect laboratory results for children aged <18 months included false-positive HIV DNA PCR tests (40), detectable HIV viral loads (4) and a false-positive HIV p24Ag test (1). One child above 18 months had false-positive HIV ELISA results. An additional 4 children were inappropriately referred after being incorrectly labelled as HIV-infected and 1 child aged <18 months was referred after an inappropriate diagnostic test for age was used. In summary, 1 in every 30 (3.3%) children was discharged HIV-uninfected, and below age 18 months, 1 in 16 children (6.3%) had false-positive HIV virological tests. Conclusions. Urgency in ART initiation in HIV-infected children is life-saving, especially in infants. However, HIV tests may produce false-positive results leading to misdiagnosis of children as HIV-infected, which has serious consequences. Meticulous checking of HIVpositive status is of utmost importance before committing any child to lifelong ART.en_ZA
dc.format.extent3 p.
dc.identifier.citationFeucht, U. D., Thomas, W. N., Forsyth, B. W. C. & Kruger, M. 2012. Incorrectly diagnosing children as HIV-infected: Experiences from a large paediatric antiretroviral therapy site in South Africa. South African Journal of Child Health, 6(3):72-75, doi:10.7196/SAJCH.460.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1999-7671 (online)
dc.identifier.issn1994-3032 (print)
dc.identifier.otherdoi:10.7196/SAJCH.460
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/82043
dc.publisherHealth and Medical Publishing Group (HMPG)
dc.rights.holderAuthors retain copyrighten_ZA
dc.subjectDiagnostic errors -- Complications -- South Africa -- Gautengen_ZA
dc.subjectHIV positive children -- Diagnosis -- Complications -- South Africa -- Pretoria -- Case studiesen_ZA
dc.subjectHIV positive children -- Treatment -- South Africa -- Pretoria -- Case studiesen_ZA
dc.subjectHighly active antiretroviral therapyen_ZA
dc.subject.corpKalafong Hospital (Pretoria, South Africa)en_ZA
dc.titleIncorrectly diagnosing children as HIV-infected : experiences from a large paediatric antiretroviral therapy site in South Africaen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA
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