Comparison of antigen immunoassay and reverse transcriptase assay for monitoring human immunodeficiency virus infection in an antiviral trial.

We compared the Abbott enzyme immunoassay for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antigen with the reverse transcriptase assay (RTA) as a means of monitoring HIV infection during an antiviral trial. The Abbott enzyme immunoassay detected HIV earlier than RTA whether or not the patients were antigenemic and appears to be superior to RTA for detecting HIV in cultures used for monitoring clinical trials.