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- Document 1059
- DOCN M9621059
- TI Use of pooling and outpatient laboratory specimens in an anonymous
- seroprevalence survey of HIV infection in British Columbia, Canada.
- DT 9602
- AU Sherlock CH; Strathdee SA; Le T; Sutherland D; O'Shaughnessy MV;
- Schechter MT; Department of Pathology, University of British Columbia,;
- Vancouver, Canada.
- SO AIDS. 1995 Aug;9(8):945-50. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/96014970
- AB OBJECTIVE: To conduct an anonymous HIV seroprevalence survey to
- establish a baseline estimate of HIV seroprevalence in a general
- population; to evaluate serum pooling and alternative testing strategies
- as cost-saving measures. DESIGN: Prospective anonymous HIV
- seroprevalence study using outpatient laboratory specimens. SETTING: Two
- large non-hospital-associated outpatient chemistry testing laboratories
- in the major population centers in British Columbia, Canada. PATIENTS
- AND SERA: Leftover sera received for chemistry screen testing in
- outpatient laboratories were provided to the study after chemistry
- testing was completed. Those from patients aged < 15 and > or = 55 years
- were excluded. METHODS: Patient identifiers were erased from samples.
- Sera were pooled 10:1 and tested by viral lysate enzyme-linked
- immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Sera from HIV-positive pools were tested
- individually. All individual HIV-positive specimens were retested for
- verification of positivity using a recombinant protein ELISA. MAIN
- OUTCOME MEASURES: HIV seroprevalence rates were stratified by sex, age
- group, and geographic area; and costs of pooling and alternative
- algorithm strategy were compared with those of conventional methods.
- RESULTS: A total of 80,238 sera were collected from 66,658 individuals
- (53% women, 47% men). Of these, 276 men (88.3 per 10,000) and 24 women
- (6.8 per 10,000) were HIV-seropositive. The highest rates were in those
- aged 30-34 years, for both men and women. Using pooling and non-Western
- blot verification saved US$2.07 per specimen, or 80% of the cost for
- conventional testing. CONCLUSIONS: The anonymous outpatient laboratory
- setting is practicable to obtain a reasonable estimate of HIV
- seroprevalence rates in a general population. Such studies can be made
- cost-effective by pooling sera and using alternative confirmatory
- strategies.
- DE Adolescence Adult AIDS Serodiagnosis/ECONOMICS British
- Columbia/EPIDEMIOLOGY Costs and Cost Analysis Female Human *HIV
- Seroprevalence Laboratories Male Middle Age Outpatients Prospective
- Studies Support, Non-U.S. Gov't JOURNAL ARTICLE
-
- SOURCE: National Library of Medicine. NOTICE: This material may be
- protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).
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