Two Approaches to Routine HIV Testing in a Hospital Emergency Department

HIV Infections Clinical Trial

Official title:

Optimizing Strategies for Universal HIV Testing (The USHER Trial)

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT00502944
• Other study ID #: R01MH073445
• Secondary ID: R01MH073445DAHBR
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: July 16, 2007
• Last updated: July 16, 2012
• Start date: February 2007
• Est. completion date: July 2008

Study information

• Verified date: July 2012
• Source: Massachusetts General Hospital
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: United States: Federal Government
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This study will compare the effectiveness of two different approaches to providing routine HIV counseling, testing, and referral services in an urban hospital emergency department setting.

Description:

About 25% of HIV infected people do not know that they are infected. These people lack medical care that could prolong their lives and access to counseling services that could prevent further spread of HIV. With so many people unaware of their HIV status, there is a clear need for more readily available HIV counseling, testing, and referral services throughout the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends routine HIV testing in U.S. hospitals in which HIV infected patients make up at least 1% of the total patient population for that hospital. However, routine HIV testing in such hospitals is rarely carried out, which might be because the CDC has not specified who should perform routine HIV testing. The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of two different approaches to providing routine HIV counseling, testing, and referral services in an urban hospital emergency department setting. One approach will be led by an HIV counselor, and the other approach will be led by an emergency department staff member. For both approaches, the study will evaluate to what extent patients accept HIV testing, how well follow-up care is established, and the cost-effectiveness of the approach.

Participants in this study will include adults who visit Brigham and Women's Hospital emergency department in Boston, Massachusetts. Participants will be randomly assigned to a counselor versus provider and will be asked to fill out a questionnaire while waiting in the emergency room. The questionnaire will be anonymous. Participants will then be offered an oral rapid HIV test. Test results will be available in about 20 minutes and will be provided to participants by either their assigned HIV counselor. Participants who test positive for HIV will be offered a more definitive blood test to confirm HIV infection. The blood test results will be available 2 weeks from testing, and participants must return to the hospital to get their test results. Participants who test positive for HIV will be offered counseling support and referral services by either their assigned HIV counselor or emergency department staff member. Follow-up care appointments will also be initiated at this time. For participants who test positive for HIV, the study will last about 6 months. There will be no follow-up visits for participants who do not test positive for HIV during their emergency room visit.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 4855
• Est. completion date: July 2008
• Est. primary completion date: July 2008
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Waiting to receive care in the Brigham and Women's Hospital emergency room

• English- or Spanish-speaking

• Enters the emergency room when an HIV counselor is available

Exclusion Criteria:

• An estimated severity index score of 1 or 2 who have mechanical ventilation or are not deemed alert, awake, and oriented to person, place and time by the triage nurse

• HIV infected

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Screening

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• HIV Infections

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Counselor-based HIV screening
Participants will undergo oral HIV screening by HIV counselor and, if positive, further study visits for up to 6 months
• Emergency staff member-based HIV screening
Participants will undergo oral HIV screening by emergency staff member and, if positive, further study visits for up to 6 months

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Brigham and Women's Hospital	Boston	Massachusetts

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Massachusetts General Hospital	National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (12)

Arbelaez C, Block B, Losina E, Wright EA, Reichmann WM, Mikulinsky R, Solomon JD, Dooley MM, Walensky RP. Rapid HIV testing program implementation: lessons from the emergency department. Int J Emerg Med. 2009 Sep 1;2(3):187-94. doi: 10.1007/s12245-009-012 — View Citation

Arbelaez C, Wright EA, Losina E, Millen JC, Kimmel S, Dooley M, Reichmann WM, Mikulinsky R, Walensky RP. Emergency provider attitudes and barriers to universal HIV testing in the emergency department. J Emerg Med. 2012 Jan;42(1):7-14. doi: 10.1016/j.jemer — View Citation

Donnell-Fink L, Reichmann WM, Arbelaez C, Case AL, Katz JN, Losina E, Walensky RP. Patient satisfaction with rapid HIV testing in the emergency department. Ann Emerg Med. 2011 Jul;58(1 Suppl 1):S49-52. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2011.03.024. — View Citation

Ganguli I, Bassett IV, Dong KL, Walensky RP. Home testing for HIV infection in resource-limited settings. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2009 Nov;6(4):217-23. Review. — View Citation

Millen JC, Arbelaez C, Walensky RP. Implications and impact of the new US Centers for Disease Control and prevention HIV testing guidelines. Curr Infect Dis Rep. 2008 May;10(2):157-63. — View Citation

Pisculli ML, Reichmann WM, Losina E, Donnell-Fink LA, Arbelaez C, Katz JN, Walensky RP. Factors associated with refusal of rapid HIV testing in an emergency department. AIDS Behav. 2011 May;15(4):734-42. doi: 10.1007/s10461-010-9837-2. — View Citation

Reichmann WM, Losina E, Seage GR, Arbelaez C, Safren SA, Katz JN, Hetland A, Walensky RP. Does modality of survey administration impact data quality: audio computer assisted self interview (ACASI) versus self-administered pen and paper? PLoS One. 2010 Jan 15;5(1):e8728. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0008728. — View Citation

Reichmann WM, Walensky RP, Case A, Novais A, Arbelaez C, Katz JN, Losina E. Estimation of the prevalence of undiagnosed and diagnosed HIV in an urban emergency department. PLoS One. 2011;6(11):e27701. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0027701. Epub 2011 Nov 16. — View Citation

Walensky RP, Arbelaez C, Reichmann WM, Walls RM, Katz JN, Block BL, Dooley M, Hetland A, Kimmel S, Solomon JD, Losina E. Revising expectations from rapid HIV tests in the emergency department. Ann Intern Med. 2008 Aug 5;149(3):153-60. — View Citation

Walensky RP, Freedberg KA, Weinstein MC, Paltiel AD. Cost-effectiveness of HIV testing and treatment in the United States. Clin Infect Dis. 2007 Dec 15;45 Suppl 4:S248-54. doi: 10.1086/522546. Review. — View Citation

Walensky RP, Morris BL, Reichmann WM, Paltiel AD, Arbelaez C, Donnell-Fink L, Katz JN, Losina E. Resource utilization and cost-effectiveness of counselor- vs. provider-based rapid point-of-care HIV screening in the emergency department. PLoS One. 2011;6(1 — View Citation

Walensky RP, Reichmann WM, Arbelaez C, Wright E, Katz JN, Seage GR 3rd, Safren SA, Hare AQ, Novais A, Losina E. Counselor- versus provider-based HIV screening in the emergency department: results from the universal screening for HIV infection in the emerg — View Citation

* Note: There are 12 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Linkage to Care of Newly Diagnosed HIV Infected Participants	We define linkage to care as attendance at a first HIV clinic appointment where the following 3 events occur: 1) introduction to an HIV care primary provider; 2) receipt of confirmatory Western Blot HIV test results; and 3) phlebotomy for CD4 cell count and HIV RNA level.	Assessed within 8 weeks after receipt of reactive rapid HIV test results	No
Secondary	Overall Rapid HIV Testing Rate	We defined the overall rapid HIV testing rate as the number of participants tested for HIV using the rapid test among those randomized to potentially be tested in each arm.	Assess on day subject enrolled into the study	No