Rapid diagnostic test reader

Background: Early and accurate detection of HIV infection is essential for patient management and disease control. The primary methodology for HIV testing has shifted from enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to rapid diagnostic tests in recent years, especially in resource limited settings. Purpose: To correlate two new commercial serologic tests for HIV (ALTA rapid test reader RTR-1, CTK Biotech and HIV ELISA; GenscreenTM ULTRA HIV Ag-Ab). Study design: The sensitivity and specificity of the HIV tests were compared using unknown HIV status of 955 specimens. Results: The two different assays showed excellent sensitivity in the diagnosis of HIV infection (100%). Specificity in RTR was (100%), whereas it is (98.3%) in ELISA which indicates, ELISA given (1.7%) false positive results. Conclusions: Rapid test reader can be useful in the effective and economical screening method for HIV infection. However, rapid test reader is not a substitute for ELISA method