Evaluation of a commercial enzyme immunoassay for HIV (1&2) screening in urine at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Objectives: This study was undertaken to validate human immunodeficiency virus( HIV) 1&2 testing in urine samples as a screening process. Method and Materials: 160 samples of urine were collected from people living with HIV who attended the adult antiretroviral clinic and 38 urine samples of pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic of the university of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital who had tested negative previously and two others who came for routine test in the laboratory were screened for HIV using a urine kit. Results: One hundred and sixty (160) of these samples from the adult clinic which were known to be positive previously from serum tests still were positive giving a sensitivity of 100% while the rest 40 which were negative with serum, one was found to be positive and another discrepant result making the specificity to be in the range of 95-97.5%. Conclusion: The sensitivity and specificity of the urine test kit is adequate for screening purposes but all positive samples must be confirmed with an alternative test or Western blot.