Comments on the Recent Clinical Guidance Statement on HIV Screening
Authors: David R. Holtgrave
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2009)

Letters18 August 2009Comments on the Recent Clinical Guidance Statement on HIV ScreeningDavid R. Holtgrave, PhDDavid R. Holtgrave, PhDFrom Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-151-4-200908180-00016 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Qaseem and colleagues (1) recently presented clinical practice guidelines on HIV screening in health care settings. One of the authors (Dr. Owens) and 2 of the acknowledged commentators (Drs. Walensky and Paltiel) have had cost-effectiveness analyses of routine HIV testing published, but this is not the entirety of all researchers (myself included) who have written about this topic. Qaseem and colleagues classify only the economic evaluation work of the authors and commentators as good quality and inaccurately characterize the literature they did not generate. For instance, they dismiss my peer-reviewed cost-effectiveness analysis of a variety of counseling ...References1. Qaseem A, Snow V, Shekelle P, Hopkins R, Owens DK; Clinical Efficacy Assessment Subcommittee. American College of Physicians. Screening for HIV in health care settings: a guidance statement from the American College of Physicians and HIV Medicine Association. Ann Intern Med. 2009;150:125-31. [PMID: 19047022] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Holtgrave DR. Costs and consequences of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendations for opt-out HIV testing. PLoS Med. 2007;4:194. [PMID: 17564488] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Holtgrave D. Holtgrave responds to Branson and Janssen. PLoS Med. 26 November 2007. Accessed at medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=read-response&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0040194&ct=1 on 22 May 2009. Google Scholar4. Paltiel AD, Walensky RP, Schackman BR, Seage GR, Mercincavage LM, Weinstein MC, et al. Expanded HIV screening in the United States: effect on clinical outcomes, HIV transmission, and costs. Ann Intern Med. 2006;145:797-806. [PMID: 17146064] LinkGoogle Scholar5. Paltiel AD, Weinstein MC, Kimmel AD, Seage GR, Losina E, Zhang H, et al. Expanded screening for HIV in the United States—an analysis of cost-effectiveness. N Engl J Med. 2005;352:586-95. [PMID: 15703423] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Sanders GD, Bayoumi AM, Holodniy M, Owens DK. Cost-effectiveness of HIV screening in patients older than 55 years of age. Ann Intern Med. 2008;148:889-903. [PMID: 18559840] LinkGoogle Scholar7. Sanders GD, Bayoumi AM, Sundaram V, Bilir SP, Neukermans CP, Rydzak CE, et al. Cost-effectiveness of screening for HIV in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy. N Engl J Med. 2005;352:570-85. [PMID: 15703422] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. Walensky RP, Weinstein MC, Kimmel AD, Seage GR, Losina E, Sax PE, et al. Routine human immunodeficiency virus testing: an economic evaluation of current guidelines. Am J Med. 2005;118:292-300. [PMID: 15745728] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Holtgrave DR. When “heightened” means “lessened”: the case of HIV prevention resources in the United States. J Urban Health. 2007;84:648-52. [PMID: 17634763] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoExpanded HIV Screening in the United States: Effect on Clinical Outcomes, HIV Transmission, and Costs A. David Paltiel , Rochelle P. Walensky , Bruce R. Schackman , George R. Seage III , Lauren M. Mercincavage , Milton C. Weinstein , and Kenneth A. Freedberg Cost-Effectiveness of HIV Screening in Patients Older than 55 Years of Age Gillian D. Sanders , Ahmed M. Bayoumi , Mark Holodniy , and Douglas K. Owens Screening for HIV in Health Care Settings: A Guidance Statement From the American College of Physicians and HIV Medicine Association Amir Qaseem , Vincenza Snow , Paul Shekelle , Robert Hopkins Jr. , Douglas K. Owens , and Comments on the Recent Clinical Guidance Statement on HIV Screening Amir Qaseem , Paul Shekelle , and Douglas K. Owens Comments on the Recent Clinical Guidance Statement on HIV Screening Eliezer M. Van Allen and R. Jeffrey Kohlwes Metrics 18 August 2009Volume 151, Issue 4Page: 286-287KeywordsConflicts of interestGeographic areasHIVHIV preventionHealth careHealth screeningTreatment guidelines ePublished: 18 August 2009 Issue Published: 18 August 2009 CopyrightCopyright © 2009 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...