HIV Viral Load Test With Next-Day Results Does Not Impact Linkage to Care

TUESDAY, Dec. 23, 2025 (HealthDay News) — For adults at risk for HIV acquisition or people with HIV (PWH) not taking daily antiretroviral therapy (ART), an HIV viral load (VL) test with next-day results does not significantly impact linkage to care, according to a study published online Dec. 16 in JAMA Network Open.

Matthew M. Hamill, M.B.Ch.B., Ph.D., from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues conducted a randomized clinical trial involving a convenience sample of adults with risk factors for HIV acquisition or PWH not taking daily ART. Participants were randomly assigned to receive a laboratory-based plasma HIV VL test with next-day results in addition to the standard of care HIV antigen/antibody test result (intervention; 98 people) or to receive the standard of care HIV antigen/antibody assay alone (control; 97 people).

Within 12 weeks of enrollment, 93 participants (47.7 percent) completed follow-up and 69 (35.4 percent) were linked to care (38 of 69 [55.1 percent] and 31 of 69 [44.9 percent] in the intervention and control groups, respectively). Linkage to care did not differ significantly between the intervention and control groups. Time to linkage to care was significantly less for PWH in the intervention group in a modified intention-to-treat analysis.

“Overall, we found there was no difference in linkage to care rates between the groups, suggesting that knowing the results of a viral load test does not significantly improve the rates by which people seek treatment or prevention care for HIV,” senior author Yukari C. Manabe, M.D., also from Johns Hopkins, said in a statement.

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text