Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- List of abbreviations
- Foreword
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part I Scientific basis of pediatric HIV care
- Part II General issues in the care of pediatric HIV patients
- 7 Diagnosis of HIV-1 infection in children
- 8 Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV
- 9 Routine pediatric care
- 10 Immunizations
- 11 Prevention of opportunistic infections and other infectious complications of HIV in children
- 12 Emergency evaluation and care
- 13 Adherence to antiretroviral therapy in children and youth
- 14 Adolescents and HIV
- 15 Adolescent reproductive health and HIV
- 16 Growth, nutrition, and metabolism
- 17 Neurobehavioral function and assessment of children and adolescents with HIV-1 infection
- Part III Antiretroviral therapy
- Part IV Clinical manifestations of HIV infection in children
- Part V Infectious problems in pediatric HIV disease
- Part VI Medical, social, and legal issues
- Appendices
- Index
- Plate section
- References
7 - Diagnosis of HIV-1 infection in children
from Part II - General issues in the care of pediatric HIV patients
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 February 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- List of abbreviations
- Foreword
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part I Scientific basis of pediatric HIV care
- Part II General issues in the care of pediatric HIV patients
- 7 Diagnosis of HIV-1 infection in children
- 8 Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV
- 9 Routine pediatric care
- 10 Immunizations
- 11 Prevention of opportunistic infections and other infectious complications of HIV in children
- 12 Emergency evaluation and care
- 13 Adherence to antiretroviral therapy in children and youth
- 14 Adolescents and HIV
- 15 Adolescent reproductive health and HIV
- 16 Growth, nutrition, and metabolism
- 17 Neurobehavioral function and assessment of children and adolescents with HIV-1 infection
- Part III Antiretroviral therapy
- Part IV Clinical manifestations of HIV infection in children
- Part V Infectious problems in pediatric HIV disease
- Part VI Medical, social, and legal issues
- Appendices
- Index
- Plate section
- References
Summary
Effective management of pediatric HIV-1 infection begins with timely and accurate diagnosis. In infants, early diagnosis is essential. Life-threatening immunodeficiency can develop rapidly and unpredictably, and there are no laboratory or clinical characteristics that accurately predict rapid or slow disease progression [1]. Studies in adults and children have shown that very early treatment can slow the progression of immunodeficiency and preserve HIV-1-specific immune responses. Early detection of HIV-1 infection among pregnant women is necessary to optimize medical care for the HIV-1-infected woman and to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1. This chapter outlines the use of serology, virus culture, and molecular diagnostic methods to detect HIV-1 infection in children.
HIV-1 diagnostic assays
Detection of antibodies to HIV-1
In 1985, enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) and immunoblot (Western blot) assays were licensed in the USA for detection of HIV-1-specific IgG antibodies in serum. While other tests are now available, they remain the mainstay for serological diagnosis of infection.
A large number of ELISA-based testing kits for antibody detection of HIV-1 specific antibodies are currently licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration. Early examples employed lysates from HIV-1-infected cell culture to provide HIV-1 antigen material. More recently developed assays often use a mixture of recombinant proteins, and some contain antigens that permit detection of antibodies to HIV-2 as well as antibody responses to HIV-1 (see below).
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- Chapter
- Information
- Textbook of Pediatric HIV Care , pp. 105 - 110Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005