Overseas processing of dried blood spots for timely diagnosis of HIV in Haitian infants
Rev. panam. salud p£blica
; 24(5): 331-335, Nov. 2008. tab
Article
em En
| MedCarib
| ID: med-17458
Biblioteca responsável:
TT5
Localização: TT5; W1, RE712AW
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
To determine the feasibility of sending dried blood spots (DBS) to an overseas processing center for the diagnosis of HIV infection in infants in rural Haiti.METHODS:
The program took place in the Central Department of Haiti. Children under 18 months of age who were born to an HIV-infected mother or who had a positive HIV antibody test had blood collected on filter paper. Once dry, specimens were labeled with a unique identifying number, placed in sealed gas-impermeable envelopes containing a desiccant, stored at room temperature, and mailed to a commercial laboratory in The Netherlands, where blood was eluted from the filter paper and analyzed by the RetinaTM rainbow HIV-1 RNA assay. Infants were tested at 1 month of age and again at 4 months of age.RESULTS:
The DBS protocol was easily scaled up. During the study period, 138 infants had HIV status confirmed; 15 of them were found to be HIV infected and were enrolled in appropriate HIV care, and 123 were confirmed to be HIV uninfected, avoiding unnecessary prophylactic antibiotics and providing reassurance to caregivers.CONCLUSION:
Central, overseas processing of DBS is a feasible solution for the timely diagnosis of HIV infection in infants where local capacity is unavailable. Regional processing centers for DBS could improve the access of millions of children in Latin America and the Caribbean to timely diagnosis of HIV infection.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MedCarib
Assunto principal:
Sorodiagnóstico da AIDS
/
Coleta de Amostras Sanguíneas
/
Áreas de Pobreza
/
Região do Caribe
/
Haiti
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Guideline
Limite:
Humans
/
Infant
País/Região como assunto:
Caribe
/
Haiti
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Pan am. j. public health
/
Pan american journal of public health
/
Rev Panam Salud Publica
/
Rev. panam. salud p£blica
/
Rev. panam. salud pública
/
Rev. panam. salud pública (Online)
/
Revista panamericana de salud pública
Ano de publicação:
2008
Tipo de documento:
Article