Predictive validity and usefulness of visual scanning task in HIV / AIDS -- A case control analysis.

Background There are evidences of brain damage, based on functional neuro-imaging studies, in patients with HIV/AIDS in the developed countries. However there is little or no information among this group of patients in the sub-Saharan Africa due to non-availability of functional neuro-imaging facilities. Objective To assess the predictive validity of computerized visual scanning test as a tool to screen for presence of brain damage in HIV/AIDS patients. Methods We used a neuropsychological tool, the computerized visual scanning task, a sensitive tool that discriminates between brain-damaged subjects and normal population, to assess the presence of damage in a randomly selected sample of 192 HIV-positive subjects. These subjects\' performances were compared with age, sex and level of education matched 96 controls. Results The visual scanning task had a sensitivity of 81.77%, specificity of 81.25% and accuracy of 81.6%. There were significant differences in the performances of the HIV-positive subjects when compared with controls (p Keywords : brain, cognition, HIV/AIDS, predictive validity, visual scanning test Introduction Des etudes d\'imagerie fonctionnelles sont realisees lors de VIH/SIDA dans les pays developpes. En revanche, il y a peu d\'etudes de ce type realisees en Afrique subsaharienne compte tenu de l\'absence de support technique de ce type Objectif Evaluer la validite predictive d\'un test numerique visuel comme moyen de determination des lesions cerebrales chez les patients VIH/SIDA. Methodes Nous avons utilise des methodes neuropsychologique, un test numerique visuel, afin d\'apprecier la sensibilite discriminative entre une population atteinte et une population saine. Un echantillon aleatoirement choisi de 192 patients VIH positifs a ete etudie. La performance de cette population a ete comparee en integrant l\'âge, le sexe et le niveau educatif de 96 cas-controles. Resultats Le test de sensibilite du test numerique visuel etait de 81,77% avec une specificite de 81,25%. Il y avait une difference significative entre les patients VIH positifs et les sujets temoins (p African Journal of Neurological Sciences Vol. 26 (1) 2007: pp. 45-52