Evaluation of a Screening Test kit of Simultaneous p24 Antigen and Anti-HIV1/2 Detection in Diagnostic Aspect

Park, Kwang Il; Kim, Hyou Suk; Kim, Hyun Ok; Song, Kyung Soon; Kim, Jun Myung

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus(HIV) is the causative agent of acquired immune deficiency syndrome(AIDS). Current diagnosis of HIV infection relies on the detection of anti-HIV antibodies by ELISA. Recently, simultaneous detection kit of p24 antigenemia and anti-HIV1/anti-HIV2 antibodies were developed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic kit of simultaneous detection with p24 antigen and anti-HIV1/2 in diagnostic aspect.
METHODS
Eight hundred and four sera which were obtained between July 1999 and August 1999 and 110 sera from 54 patients diagnosed as HIV infection were included. One lot of panels composed of consecutive sera obtained from known HIV-infected patients was included. The detection of anti-HIV1/2 antibodies was done by Genedia HIV1/2 ELISA 3.0 kit(Greencross, Seoul, Korea) and Enzygnost anti-HIV1/2 Plus(Behringwerke, Marburg, Germany). The simultaneous detection of p24 antigenemia and anti-HIV1/2 antibodies was done with VIDAS DUO kit(bioMerieux, Lyon, France). The Vironostika HIV-1 antigen kit was used for detection of p24 antigen. The HIV RNA PCR and anti-HIV western blot assay were also performed to confirm the test results in discrepant cases.
RESULTS
The simultaneous detection kit showed 100% sensitivity and 99.6% specificity. The possibility of earlier diagnosis than conventional anti-HIV1/2 EIA was also suggested by the results obtained with a group of consecutive panel sera infected with HIV.
CONCLUSION
The simultaneous p24 antigen and anti-HIV1/2 detectin kit can be applied as a clinical screening test as a substitution of conventional anti-HIV1/2 EIA, and there is a probable gain especially in early diagnosis.