Development of a clinical algorithm to prioritise HIV testing of hospitalised paediatric patients in a low resource moderate prevalence setting

Abstract

Objective: To develop a clinical algorithm to identify paediatric patients who should be offered HIV testing in a setting of moderate HIV prevalence and limited resources. Methods: In a prospective cross-sectional study at Port Moresby General Hospital, Papua New Guinea, carers of inpatients were offered HIV testing and counselling for their children. Recruited children were tested for HIV antibodies and DNA. Standardised clinical information was collected. Multivariate regression analysis was used to ascertain independent predictors of HIV infection and these were used to develop a predictive algorithm. Results: From September 2007 to October 2008, 487 children were enrolled. Overall, 55 (1..