How do rapid HIV tests compare with standard HIV Enzyme Immunoassays (EIAs)?
Clinical studies have demonstrated that the sensitivity and the specificity of rapid HIV tests are comparable to those of standard tests often used for screening. The negative predictive value of a screening test is high at the HIV prevalence observed in most U.S. testing settings. Therefore, a client with a negative rapid HIV test result can be told he or she is not infected. However, because HIV antibodies take time to develop, retesting should be recommended to persons with a recent possible exposure (sexual contact or needle sharing within 3 months). Because some reactive test results may be false-positive, every reactive rapid test must be confirmed by a supplemental test (either Western blot or immunofluorescence assay [IFA]).
