Rapid HIV testing of women in labor: too long a delay.

For HIV-infected women who have not received antiretroviral treatment or transmission prophylaxis in pregnancy, starting antiretrovirals in labor or soon after birth can still decrease the risk of perinatal transmission. There is, therefore, potential benefit in conducting rapid HIV testing in labor, but hospitals are seldom prepared to conduct such testing. We compared protocols for rapid HIV testing at 2 hospitals to determine what proportion of women had results back early enough to intervene if results had been positive.