Predictive value of the presence of P24 antigen in persons with antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus in Spain.

In a prospective study of 37 individuals in Spain who did not have AIDS or AIDS-related complex but were positive for antibody to HIV, 164 sequentially taken serum samples were tested for the presence of the p24 antigen of HIV. Six of the subjects were antigenemic at entry to the study and five of the remaining 31 subjects seroconverted for HIV antigen during follow-up. Six (55%) of the 11 antigenemic patients but none of those without antigenemia developed AIDS. The interval from the time of first detection of HIV antigen to the diagnosis of AIDS varied greatly. The results confirm that individuals with HIV antigenemia run a significantly higher risk of developing AIDS.