Comparison of Enhanced Targeted Rapid HIV Screening Using the Denver HIV Risk Score to Nontargeted Rapid HIV Screening in the Emergency Department

Study objective A clinical prediction tool, the Denver HIV Risk Score, was recently developed to help identify patients with increased probability of undiagnosed HIV infection. Our goal was to compare targeted rapid HIV screening using the Denver HIV Risk Score to nontargeted rapid HIV screening in an urban emergency department (ED) and urgent care. Methods We used a prospective, before-after design at an urban medical center with an approximate annual census of 110,000 visits. Patients aged 13 years or older were eligible for screening. Targeted HIV screening of patients identified as high-risk by nurses using the Denver HIV Risk Score during medical screening was compared to nontargeted HIV screening offered by medical screening nurses during 2 separate 4-month time periods. The primary outcome was newly diagnosed HIV-infected patients. Results 28,506 patients presented during the targeted phase, 1,718 were identified as high-risk, and 551 completed HIV testing. Of these, 7 (1.3%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.5% to 2.6%) were newly diagnosed with HIV infection. 29,510 patients presented during the nontargeted phase and 3,591 completed HIV testing. Of these, 7 (0.2%, 95% CI 0.1% to 0.4%) were newly diagnosed with HIV infection. Targeted HIV screening was significantly associated with identification of newly diagnosed HIV infection when compared to nontargeted screening, adjusting for patient demographics and payer status (relative risk [RR] 10.4, 95% CI 3.4 to 32.0). Conclusion Targeted HIV screening using the Denver HIV Risk Score was strongly associated with new HIV diagnoses when compared to nontargeted screening. Although both HIV screening methods identified the same absolute number of newly diagnosed patients, significantly fewer tests were required during the targeted phase to achieve the same effect.