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Testing for HIV recommended for all pregnant women

All pregnant women, not just those identified as at risk for contracting HIV, should be screened for HIV, according to a July 4, 2005, news release from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The US Preventive Services Task Force issued this recommendation based on evidence that currently available tests accurately identify pregnant women who are infected with HIV and that recommended treatment strategies can significantly reduce the chances that an infected mother will transmit HIV to her infant.

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In 1996, the task force recommended routine counseling and screening of pregnant women at high-risk and those who live in communities with a higher rate of newborns that are HTV positive. Recent evidence indicates that prenatal counseling and HIV testing has gained wider acceptance among pregnant women and that universal testing increases the number of women diagnosed and treated for HIV before delivery. Mothers with HIV who receive the currently recommended treatment can reduce the chance that their infants will be infected to as tow as 1%, as opposed to 25% for infants born to mothers with HIV who are not treated during pregnancy.

The task force also reaffirmed its earlier recommendation that art adolescents and adults at increased risk for HIV infection be screened and has broadened its definition of high risk. In addition to patients who report high-risk behaviors, all patients receiving care in high-risk settings, such as homeless shelters or clinics dedicated to the treatment of sexually transmitted infections, should be tested.

Task Force Recommends HIV Screening for All Pregnant Women (news release, Rockville, Md: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, July 4, 2005).

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Testing for HIV recommended for all pregnant women

AORN Journal, August, 2005

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