Missed Opportunities for HIV Screening Among a Cohort of Adolescents With Recently Diagnosed HIV Infection in a Large Pediatric Hospital Care Network.

PURPOSE: Routine human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening reduces HIV progression and transmission. Our aims were to determine prevalence and factors associated with prior HIV screening among a cohort of youth living with HIV. METHODS: Retrospective chart review of youth living with HIV aged 14-26 at an HIV clinic comparing characteristics between those with and without HIV screening within the year prior to diagnosis RESULTS: Subjects (n = 301) were male (85%), African-American (87%), and men who have sex with men (84%). Subjects seen 1 year prior to diagnosis (n = 58) contributed 179 visits for missed opportunities with 59% having a documented sexual history in the electronic health record and 48% tested for HIV. Subjects with symptoms suggesting acute HIV infection (51%) were more likely to be tested (p = .04). In the adjusted model, documentation of sexual history and demographic factors was not associated with prior testing. CONCLUSION: We identified high rates of missed opportunities for HIV testing and sexual history documentation in the year prior to diagnosis, underscoring the need for routine HIV screening in adolescents.