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CompletedNCT00103883Updated Mar 1, 2017

A Novel Method to Determine HIV Incidence Among Youth

An observational study in HIV Infection, sponsored by University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Completed at 15 sites in 2 countries. Open to participants aged 12 Years to 24 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2017-03-01.

Sponsored by University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Case-control
Time perspective
Cross-sectional
Enrollment
440
Ages
12 Years to 24 Years
Sex
All
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Study summary

Identifying young people with early HIV-1 infection is important for increasing linkage to care, for behavioral counseling, and for enrolling individuals into programs that can provide effective interventions to disease progression and improve outcome. This study will develop and evaluate a saliva-based sensitive/less sensitive (S/LS) assay for differentiating persons with recent HIV-1 infection (less than 133 days) from those with established HIV-1 infection.

Read the detailed description

HIV infection incidence estimates are important, not only for determining specific populations where community HIV education sessions can have the most benefit or where changes in infection patterns are occurring, but also to target these populations for therapeutic interventions and measure their effect in the community. It is estimated that half of all new HIV infections in the United States occur in persons under the age of 25 each year, translating to approximately 20,000 new HIV-infected young people annually.

Incidence can be estimated by testing a cohort of individuals for antibody at two different time periods and observing the number of new infections, or by demonstrating the presence of HIV p24 or viral RNA in antibody-negative persons. Since these strategies are logistically difficult, expensive, and/or require significant laboratory infrastructure, new laboratory-based strategies were devised that can classify individuals as recently infected or with established infection. These serologic assays are known as "sensitive/less sensitive (S/LS) assays". They are based on either the concept of antibody titer or the concept of antibody avidity. There are several S/LS tests available but all of them are performed on serum collected via venipuncture. Based on several studies showing that obtaining saliva is a more desirable method of collection for adolescents receiving HIV testing, it is anticipated that the collection of saliva and its use for determining HIV incidence by S/LS methods among adolescents would be a valuable adjunct for population studies and for increasing compliance for testing and enrollment.

The aim of this study is to prove equivalence between the serum S/LS reference method (CDC validated serum S/LS Dilutional Vironostika (DV) from Organon Teknika) and the experimental method that uses an FDA approved saliva collection device (OraSure Technologies). Our rationale follows a syllogism, i.e., if the serum S/LS EIA (DV) is the best serologic method to determine incidence estimates and a saliva S/LS method is found to perform equivalently, then it follows that the saliva S/LS method can be used effectively to determine incidence. Therefore, our purpose is to show equivalence between the two assays. To address the issue of accuracy, further studies are planned to assess the saliva S/LS test against seroconversion panels where the exact time of acquisition of HIV infection is known.

This is a cross-sectional, laboratory-based study designed to develop and evaluate a saliva-based S/LS assay for differentiating individuals with recent HIV infection (less than 133 days) from those with established HIV infection. A total of 440 subjects will be recruited in the study. A serum and two saliva samples will be obtained from every subject. The first 40 patient samples will be used to develop and calibrate the saliva-based S/LS method. The remaining patient samples will be tested using the calibrated saliva based S/LS assay and the reference serum S/LS assay and concordance between the two methods will be analyzed.

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Conditions studied

  • HIV Infection

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Keywords

  • HIV
  • Detuned Assay
  • Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA)
  • HIV Incidence
  • Laboratory assay
  • Sensitive/Less sensitive Assay
  • Acute Infection
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In context

HIV Infections

4,257 studies on the registry are indexed under HIV Infections; 240 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 440 is above the median of 200 across 713 observational studies indexed under HIV Infections.

Browse HIV Infections studies →

Lead sponsor

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill is the lead sponsor of 1,340 studies on the registry; 133 are open to participants now.

Of its 155 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 136 (88%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
12 Years to 24 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Two hundred fifty subjects will be recruited from the fifteen sites of the Adolescent Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions (ATN) and 190 from the BCHD STD Clinic, a sexually transmitted disease clinic of the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD). The age range for subjects from the ATN clinical sites will be 12 through 24 years and those from the BCHD STD Clinic will be 17 through 30 years.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age 12 through 24 years
  • HIV infection determined by routine HIV testing strategies
  • Ability to give informed consent or assent with parental permission, where required

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Visibly distraught or emotionally unstable
  • Intoxicated or under the influence of psychoactive agents
  • First disclosure of sexual, physical, or emotional abuse
  • Clinically presents as acutely ill
05

Study design

Observational model
Case-control
Time perspective
Cross-sectional
Enrollment
440 participants (actual)
Biospecimen retention
Samples without dna

Groups and cohorts

  • HIV Infected Teens -ATN Clinical Sites

    HIV infected teens who are referred to or engaged in care at any of the 15 ATN clinical sites during the course of the study.

  • HIV Positive - ATN Clinical Sites

    Youth who test HIV positive at ATN-managed or ATN-affiliated HIV Counseling and Testing Sites (CTS) during the course of the study.

  • HIV Positive - BCHD STD Clinic

    Youth who test HIV positive at the BCHD STD Clinic during the course of the study.

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Phase I - Serum-based S/LS assay result

    To develop and calibrate a saliva S/LS assay using the FDA licensed OraSure collection device in conjunction with its matched saliva EIA assay to differentiate persons with recent versus established HIV infection (Phase I)

    Time frame: 15-20 Months

  2. Phase II - Saliva-based S/LS assay result

    To assess that the saliva S/LS method performs equivalently to the reference serum S/LS method for HIV incidence estimates in populations of youth (Phase II)

    Time frame: 15-20 Months

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Study locations

15 sites
  • Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
    Los Angeles, California 90027, United States
  • University of California at San Diego
    San Diego, California 92103, United States
  • University of California at San Francisco
    San Francisco, California 94118, United States
  • Children's National Medical Center
    Washington, DC, District of Columbia 20010, United States
  • Children's Diagnostic and Treatment Center
    Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33316, United States
  • University of Miami
    Miami, Florida 33101, United States
  • University of South Florida
    Tampa, Florida 33606, United States
  • Stroger Hospital of Cook County
    Chicago, Illinois 60612, United States
  • Tulane University
    New Orleans, Louisiana 70112, United States
  • University of Maryland Medical School
    Baltimore, Maryland 21201, United States
  • Childrens Hospital Boston
    Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States
  • Montefiore Medical Center
    Bronx, New York 10467, United States
  • Mount Sinai Hospital
    New York, New York 10128, United States
  • Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
  • University Pediatric Hospital
    San Juan, 00936, Puerto Rico
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Mar 1, 2017, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00103883
Lead sponsor
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Feb 16, 2005
Start date
Feb 2003
Primary completion
Mar 2007
Completion
Mar 2007
Last update
Mar 1, 2017

Study contacts

Ligia Peralta, MD
study chair · University of Maryland

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Feb 2016. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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