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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

HIV test-seeking before and after the restriction of anonymous testing in North Carolina.

OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the impact on HIV test-seeking of North Carolina's restriction of anonymous testing to 18 of its 100 counties as of September 1, 1991. METHODS: Trends from 4 months prerestriction to the 16-month restriction period in counties retaining vs counties eliminating anonymous testing were compared. RESULTS: HIV testing increased throughout the state, but more rapidly where anonymous testing was retained than elsewhere: 64% vs 44%. These differences held for all sociodemographic subgroups and were most pronounced among adolescents and African Americans and other non-Whites. CONCLUSIONS: The data are consistent with a detrimental effect of elimination of anonymous testing, although confounding from differences in AIDS awareness or in repeat tests is possible.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Prevalence of maternal HIV infection based on unlinked anonymous testing of newborn babies.

This pilot study established that unlinked anonymous testing of dried blood spots routinely collected on Guthrie cards for neonatal screening is a feasible method for monitoring HIV prevalence in women at the time of delivery. The method was sensitive, specific, and less expensive than more conventional ELISAs. 114,515 dried blood spots taken from cards collected in three Thames regions were tested for antibody to HIV-1. 28 samples were confirmed to be antibody positive by western blot (seroprevalence 0.24 per 1000). Unlinked anonymous screening of newborn babies should be extended to monitor the spread of HIV infection in the heterosexual population and to target preventive strategies and provision of health care.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMed1994

Prevalence of HIV infections among patients attending a Parisian anonymous testing center between 1988 and 1993.

The prevalence of HIV infection was assessed among 15,611 consecutive patients attending a Parisian anonymous testing center from April 1988 to June 1993. Sera (17,910) were tested for the presence of anti-HIV antibodies using two different enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Seropositivity was verified by Western blotting. The sera were also assayed for HIV antigenemia detection in 2,493 cases. Six hundred and seventy-seven patients were found to be anti-HIV antibody positive: among them 666 were infected by HIV-1 and only 11 by HIV-2. Antigenemia was detected in 108 samples (4.3%). In all cases but 5, antigenemia was associated with the presence of specific antibodies. Risk factors for HIV infection could be determined for 5,735 patients. The HIV prevalence rates were 5.2% in 1988-89, 4.9% in 1990, 3.4% in 1991, 2.8% in 1992 and 1.8% for the 6 first months of 1993 (p < 0.01). Only one patient was coinfected with HTLV-1. This study shows a trend of decreasing seropositivity rates among the patients attending the anonymous testing center since 1990. By contrast, the percentage of seropositive patients with antigenemia was stable between 1988 and 1993.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1993

Prevalence of maternal HIV infection in Scotland based on unlinked anonymous testing of newborn babies. Update.

In January 1990, unlinked anonymous testing of Guthrie cards for HIV antibody commenced in Scotland. Ethics Committee approval allowed testing of 99.6% of Scottish births. Twenty-one mothers spontaneously refused to allow testing of their baby's blood. Samples were coded by district postcodes. For 1990 through 1991, eluates of 132,531 dried blood spots were initially tested for HIV-1 antibody with the Fujirebio technique. Of the 49 positive samples 38 were confirmed to be positive by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and western blot (seroprevalence 0.3 per 1000). Thirty-five of 38 samples came from large metropolitan areas in Scotland. Prevalences were 2.0 per 1000 for Edinburgh city, 0.7 per 1000 for Dundee and Aberdeen, 0.15 per 1000 for Glasgow and 0.05 per thousand for all other areas in Scotland. Recent spread of HIV infection to Aberdeen may have occurred. These figures do not support an overall increase of HIV infection in childbearing women in Scotland.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Determination of the seroprevalence of human immunodeficiency virus infection in gravidas by non-anonymous versus anonymous testing.

From February 16, 1988 to July 15, 1988, a prospective study was undertaken at the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago to do the following: 1) determine the seroprevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among our gravid patients, 2) test the hypothesis that methodical counseling would elicit a more thorough recounting of risk factors, and 3) test the hypothesis that those patients who self-identify risk factors represent only a fraction of HIV-positive gravidas. After educational counseling regarding HIV infection, 349 clinic patients (34%) requested non-anonymous HIV testing (group I). Risk factor histories were recorded from these women. Simultaneously, 849 women admitted to labor and delivery were queried with regard to the same risk factors but without preliminary counseling, and then tested anonymously (group II). Nineteen percent (63 of 349) of group I reported risk factors, whereas only 9.6% (82 of 849) of group II reported similar risks (P less than .0001). Two HIV-positive patients were identified in group I, both of whom reported risk factors (seroprevalence 0.6%). Nine HIV-positive patients were detected in group II, but only four reported risk factors (seroprevalence 1.1%). We conclude that methodical counseling may elicit increased reporting of HIV risk factors as compared with questioning without preliminary counseling. Because many HIV-positive patients may be unable or unwilling to report risk factors, selective voluntary testing will not identify all HIV-positive gravidas.

Chicago↗
PubMed1995

Effect of anonymous test grading on passing rates as related to gender and race.

BACKGROUND: Concerns about potential bias in the grading of medical students at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine led to a major institutional policy change whereby students' identities were masked during the test-grading process. The present study assessed the effect of this anonymous test grading policy by comparing the performance of men and women students and of white and African American students prior to and after adoption of the policy change. METHOD: A test-passing rate was determined for each of 476 freshmen students in the comparison groups from the eight classes of 1988 through 1995. Mean test-passing rates for the four student cohorts prior to policy implementation (1988-1991) were compared with mean passing rates after the policy was implemented (1992-1995). RESULTS: The pre-post change in the mean test-passing rate of men was not significantly different from the pre-post change of women, and a nonsignificant effect was also found when the pre-post change in the mean test-passing rate of white students was compared with that of African American students. No significant pre-post change was found for white men, white women, African American men, or African American women. CONCLUSION: The results showed no effect of the anonymous test-grading policy, which suggests that there was no widespread gender or racial bias in the grading of freshman medical students before the change in institutional grading policy.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1991

Prevalence of maternal HIV infection in Scotland based on unlinked anonymous testing of newborn babies.

Dried blood spot samples from newborn babies have been successfully tested for HIV-1 antibody by the particle agglutination method to assess the prevalence of infection in the mothers. In January, 1990, unlinked anonymous testing of Guthrie cards for HIV antibody was begun in Scotland. 99.6% of Scottish births were tested. 9 mothers spontaneously refused to allow testing of their baby's blood. Samples were coded by district postcodes. Eluates of 65,773 dried blood spots were initially tested for HIV-1 antibody with the Fujirebio technique. Of the 31 positive samples 19 were confirmed to be positive by enzyme-linked radioimmunoassay and western blot (seroprevalence 0.29 per 1000). All these samples came from large metropolitan areas on the east coast. Prevalences were 2.5 per 1000 for Edinburgh city, 1.4 per 1000 for Dundee, and 0.7 per 1000 for Aberdeen. We identified as HIV-positive all babies known to be so in named testing programmes. HIV testing of Guthrie cards can be used to monitor HIV status in mothers who have just given birth. The use of district postcode data in sample identification will allow accurate targetting of prevention strategies and early detection of spread of infection by geographic area.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMed1990

Prevalence of maternal HIV infection based on anonymous testing of neonates, Sydney 1989.

The presence of antibody to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in post-partum women may be inferred by screening the blood of their newborn babies, since maternal IgG antibodies freely cross the placenta. We tested a sample of 10,217 newborns from 10 hospitals covering three areas in Sydney and other metropolitan centres in New South Wales from April to July, 1989. None of the specimens gave a positive test for antibody to HIV. Thus, the prevalence of HIV positive serology in this sample of newborns was found to be zero. It was estimated that the seroprevalence of antibody to HIV among all neonates in the study area was between zero and 0.045% (99% confidence interval). Because newborns are an accessible group for the study of HIV, and can act as surrogates for their mothers, anonymous testing of this sentinel group will remove some of the limitations generalizing the information in the present database of HIV infection in Australia. This study provides baseline data and suggests that there is not a widespread epidemic of HIV infection among heterosexual persons in Australia at the present time and that routine antenatal testing of women for antibody to HIV may not be cost-effective. However, it will be important to repeat this study at regular intervals to detect any increase in HIV seroprevalence.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[Epidemiology of HIV infections in Switzerland and the German Federal Republic--contribution of official surveillance systems, of anonymous testing and of blood donor screening].

Official records on HIV infections are useful instruments to register and demonstrate the spread of the virus in the population observed. The data resulting from the registries allow the estimation of the means and the variabilities of age, sex and the probable path of infection in the observed population. In Switzerland as well as in the Federal Republic of Germany, the mean age of persons whose positive HIV status is detected increases in the course of time. In Switzerland, relatively more women are infected, and injecting drug users play a more important role. In the Federal Republic of Germany the homo-/bisexual men seem still to be the most important group. Nevertheless, data without any reference baseline do not enable an inference to be drawn in respect of trends and prevalence in the general population. Data on blood donations, collected in Switzerland as well as in Germany, and data on anonymous testing collected in Switzerland, are helpful in estimating trends and prevalence in the general population. Data suggest that the overall prevalence is higher in Switzerland than in the Federal Republic of Germany. Of course, comparisons between different countries must take in account the different structure of reporting systems and attitudes toward these systems.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMed1997

Anonymous testing of newborn infants for HIV antibodies as a basis for estimating prevalence of HIV in childbearing women: the 1991-1994 study in Spain.

During 1991-1994, anonymous screening of newborn infants for maternal antibody to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was carried out in three regions of Spain: Valencia, Galicia and Sevilla. The newborn infants whose heel-stick blood eluates were satisfactory for HIV antibody tests were a consecutive series of 104 876, representing 99.3% of all newborn infants undergoing routine metabolic screening and estimated as comprising at least 98% of all births in the three regions. Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) positives were confirmed by immunoblot, yielding 246 confirmations: a rate of 2.3 per 1000. Seropositivity rates ranged from 1.4 per 1000 in Galicia to 2.1 in Sevilla and 3.1 in Valencia, and remained relatively stable in each region during the years of the study. Within socioeconomically defined subgroups of birth hospitals in Valencia and Galicia, all subgroups contained seropositives, even though there was a twofold to fivefold over-representation in the "inner city" public hospitals. To estimate the proportion of HIV-1-seropositive newborn infants who were positive for HIV-1 DNA, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays were performed on 165 dried blood spots that had been retained following positive immunoblot assays. Fifteen (9%) were PCR positive, and when this proportion is adjusted for the age-specific sensitivity of the method, it translates into an estimated HIV-1 transmission rate of 24% (range 18-36%). For 94,906 of the 104,876 newborn infants screened, the EIA used could detect antibodies that react with epitopes of HIV-1 and HIV-2. There were 30 newborn infants whose blood eluate was positive by this combined HIV-1/HIV-2 antibody screen and whose secondary screening with monovalent HIV-2 and HIV-1 EIA indicated that the HIV-2 reactivity was above the cut-off whereas the HIV-1 was not. Ranking these 30 results according to absolute HIV-2 reactivity and relative reactivity with respect to HIV-1 indicated that four infants were probable true HIV-2 seropositives and a total of 12 were possible HIV-2 seropositives, a prevalence of the order of 1:10000 to 1:20000 newborn infants. These anonymous population-based serological studies provide "leading-indicator" data to complement traditional AIDS surveillance for epidemiological and planning purposes.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMed1999

Human immunodeficiency virus prevalence in women at delivery using unlinked anonymous testing of newborns in the Malaysian setting.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the community prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in women at the time of delivery in a Malaysian setting. METHODOLOGY: Cord blood samples from a pilot screening programme for congenital hypothyroidism in 1995 at Ipoh city and surrounding district hospitals were screened anonymously for HIV 1 and 2. HIV status was determined using chemiluminescent technology. Positive samples were retested using the Genelavia Mixt assay. RESULTS: A total of 4927 samples were tested. The ethnic breakdown included 51.7% Malays, 18.9% Chinese, 14.3% Indian, 2.3% Others and 12.9% unknown. The geographical distribution of samples was 73.9% urban, 24.2% rural and 1.9% unknown. The seroprevalence of HIV positivity was 3.25 per 1000 deliveries (95% CI: 1.92-5.16). Seroprevalence was higher for samples from rural and Malay mothers. CONCLUSION: The high seroprevalence in this study suggests that the spread of HIV is far wider than that anticipated by mandatory national reporting. It also supports antenatal screening and the use of antiretroviral therapy as an important strategy to reduce perinatal transmission.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗