HIV screening in pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this guideline is to provide recommendations to obstetric health care providers and to minimize practice variations for HIV screening, while taking provincial and territorial recommendations into account. OUTCOMES: The risk of transmission of HIV from mother to fetus is significant if the mother is not treated. The primary outcome of screening for and treating HIV in pregnancy is a marked decrease in the rate of vertical transmission of HIV from mother to fetus. Secondary outcomes include confirmation of HIV infection in the woman, which allows optimization of her health and long-term management. EVIDENCE: The Cochrane Library and Medline were searched for English-language articles published related to HIV screening and pregnancy. Additional articles were identified through the references of these articles. All study types were reviewed.