A First Attempt at Routine Inpatient HIV Testing

Investigators describe the first voluntary inpatient HIV testing program within a Veterans Affairs hospital.

In 2006, the CDC recommended that universal opt-out HIV testing be performed in all healthcare settings, including hospital inpatient wards. The following year, a project to offer voluntary rapid HIV testing on oral secretions and whole blood samples in selected inpatient settings was started in the Washington, D.C., Veterans Affairs (VA) Hospital. Because of federal regulations in place at the time, written informed consent and pretest counseling were required for each patient, meaning the project was not a true opt-out program.

During a 17-month period, 3467 eligible patients were offered rapid testing; only 824 (24%) accepted. Most of those tested were older (median age, 60; range, 23–96), black (84%), and male (94%). Ten patients (1.2% o…

Reviewing Author

Charles B. Hicks, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardGilead Sciences; ViiV; Merck

RoyaltiesUpToDate, Inc.

Grant / Research supportNIH; Department of Health and Human Services

Charles B. Hicks, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardGilead Sciences; ViiV; Merck

RoyaltiesUpToDate, Inc.

Grant / Research supportNIH; Department of Health and Human Services

A First Attempt at Routine Inpatient HIV Testing

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Reviewing Author