Abstract
Accuracy in the diagnosis is a key step to identify HIV infected individuals for appropriate management. Insufficient supply of manufacturer´s buffers in relation to the number of strips per kit has negative impact on patient´s results hence improper patient´s management. In resource limited settings, some laboratory staff use different substitute buffers which has never been validated on their reliability. This study aimed at comparing the performance of 0.85% saline and SD-Bioline manufacturer´s buffer in detection of HIV antibodies. A total of 220 whole blood specimens: 110 HIV positive specimens from patients attending care and treatment center (CTC) and 110 HIV negative specimens from blood donors were re-tested for HIV status using SD-Bioline HIV rapid test using manufacturer´s buffer and 0.85% saline separately. Data and laboratory results were recorded in Microsoft excel sheet followed by analysis using STATA version 13. For all tested samples, the level of agreement between 0.85% saline and manufacturer´s buffer was 98.64% (kappa=0.9727). The value of kappa indicates very good agreement between 0.85% saline and manufacturer´s buffer. In incidents where manufacturer´s buffer is not sufficient, 0.85% saline can give reliable results. Further studies to evaluate the suitable buffer for other rapid tests for HIV and other diseases are recommended especially in resource limited settings.
Highlights
Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is the pandemic disease that is one of the most serious global socio-economic and health problem facing people of all ages in the world [1]
This study has provided information on the usefulness of 0.85% saline buffer as detection buffer for SDBioline® HIV test, and provide suggestive alternatives to be used as substitute buffers in resource limited settings
All HIV positive specimens were screened and documented their results based on Tanzania rapid test algorithm [6] while all HIV negative were confirmed by 4th generation Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) (Bioelisa HIV1/2 ver.4.0-Spain)
Summary
Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is the pandemic disease that is one of the most serious global socio-economic and health problem facing people of all ages in the world [1]. The major impacts include reduction of labor supply and increased medical expenditure reduction of productivity in all sectors. Due to this global disaster, there have been establishment of different strategies aimed at HIV prevention and control in the community. World Health Organization (WHO) has introduced programs for promoting and protecting the community against HIV/AIDS including providing access to information and education to the countries worldwide as well as instituting management and control strategies such as early detection of HIV infection and provision of appropriate care. There is a need to ensure that all available and mostly used diagnostic methods provide a reliable result which can be useful and important part of reaching a goal of reducing consequences of HIV/AIDS pandemic
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