checking symptoms for HIV almost as good as costly lab tests

A new study in The Lancet shows that using simple clinical symptoms of HIV/AIDS, doctors can provide therapies almost as good as those made on the basis of costly laboratory analysis that are less accesible in poor countries - reported Washington Post.

The study is based on mathematical projections (not real patients) to predict the course of the epidemic in the UK over 20 years. The authors said the findings will reassure clinicians in poor countries that they are not comprising patient safety and should continue to wide access to ART (antiretroviral therapy) .

Opt-out approach to HIV testing

Many HIV patients are not diagnosed until they have advanced disease.

A group of doctors called for using a routine opt-out testing that would increase the knowledge of HIV infection status and cut infection rate, in the article "Time to move towards opt-out testing for HIV in the UK", BMJ 2007;334:1352-1354 (30 June 2007)

The call was echoed in another article, "Routine testing to reduce late HIV diagnosis in France", BMJ 2007;334:1354- 1356 (30 June 2007)

The "Editorial: reducing the length of time between HIV infection and diagnosis", BMJ 2007;334:1329- 1330 ( 30 June 2007), discussed the specific goal for changes in policy.

Read the report "Standards for HIVClinical Care" produced by the British HIV association (BHIVA)