Although U.S. Mother to Child transmission (MCT) rates of HIV have been reduced from approximately 25% to less than 2%, transmissions continue to occur.1 This reduction comes in a large part from treating pregnant mothers with antiretroviral medications.2 Despite these efforts, Louisiana has one of the highest rates of MCT of HIV in the U.S.3 Real-time identification of pregnancy status would allow high risk HIV-infected pregnant women to be targeted for follow-up. In Louisiana, laboratories are required to report positive HIV tests to SHP, most of which are received in electronic lab reporting (ELR) format. Although pregnancy status is not a variable provided on lab reports, some reports do contain information that is useful in identifying pregnancy status.
Objective
To identify, in real-time, pregnancy status of HIV-infected women through information found in laboratory reports received by the STD/HIV Program (SHP) at the Louisiana Office of Public Health. This identification will be used for targeted follow-up.