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HIV testing lacking in pregnant women

Testing for HIV during pregnancy is "grossly underperformed," according to preliminary data presented at the Annual Clinical and Scientific Meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Alex Szlachta-Mcginn, from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and colleagues said that their findings are at odds with CDC and ACOG guidelines.

"The [ACOG] Committee Opinion and the [CDC] guidelines regarding HIV testing in pregnancy state that women should be screened for HIV infection as early as possible during each pregnancy and receive a second HIV test during the third trimester," they wrote.

Szlachta-Mcginn and colleagues are conducting a retrospective review of women who received at least one prenatal visit and delivered an infant at a university medical center between January and December 2014.

Preliminary results included 3,200 pregnancies, of which 66.7% included at least one prenatal visit and 38% had one HIV test.

"Preliminary data based upon CPT billing codes for HIV testing demonstrates screening during pregnancy at an urban university medical center is grossly underperformed according to ACOG and CDC guidelines," Szlachta-Mcginn and colleagues concluded. "Clinicians' adherence to HIV screening guidelines during pregnancy is paramount to eliminating perinatal HIV transmission." – by Chelsea Frajerman Pardes

Reference:

Szlachta-Mcginn A, et al. HIV testing in pregnancy. Presented at: The Annual Clinical and Scientific Meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; May 14-17, 2016; Washington, D.C.

Disclosures: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.