Published September, 2007

Rapid Human Immunodeficiency virus-1 Testing on Labor and Delivery in 17 U.S. Hospitals: The MIRIAD Experience, Denise J. Jamieson, et. al. (2007)

(The following summary is excerpted from the article's abstract):
The objective of the study was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and accuracy of rapid human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing during labor. The Mother-Infant Rapid Intervention at Delivery (MIRIAD) study was a prospective, multicenter study that offered voluntary, rapid HIV testing to women with undocumented HIV status at 17 hospitals in 6 cities. Of 12,481 eligible women, 74% were approached for participation and 85.5% of those approached accepted rapid HIV testing. Among 7753 women tested, MIRIAD identified 52 (0.7%) HIV-infected women. The time between obtaining the blood sample for the rapid test and reporting the results to the health care provider was shorter for hospitals utilizing point-of-care testing than in hospitals utilizing laboratory-based testing (30 minutes vs 68 minutes; P < .0001), and point-of-care testing strategies were 14 times more likely to have a short turnaround as laboratory testing strategies. When other testing options have not been available or pursued, routine rapid testing during labor is a feasible way to identify HIV-infected women before delivery.