O aumento da concentração plasmática dos níveis de lactato pode indicar a presença de distúrbios metabólicos em indivíduos infectados pelo HIV. Objetivo: Determinar a validade do analisador portátil para quantificar os níveis de lactato no líquido cefalorraquidiano (LCR) e plasma em indivíduos infectados. Método: LCR e plasma foram coletados de 178 participantes. As amostras testadas com o analisador portátil Accutrend® e os resultados comparados com aqueles obtidos com o equipamento de referência (SYNCHRON LX® 20). Resultados: O analisador portátil teve, no plasma, sensibilidade de 0,95 e especificidade 0,87. No LCR a especificidade foi 0,95; a sensibilidade 0,33; o valor preditivo negativo foi de 95% e o valor preditivo positivo 33%. Conclusões: Estes dados suportam a validade dos resultados do analisador portátil em concentrações de lactato dentro da faixa normal. Os valores preditivos positivos relativamente baixos indicam que um resultado acima da faixa de referência pode representar um resultado “falso positivo”.

Increased plasma lactate levels can indicate the presence of metabolic disorders in HIV infected individuals. Objective: To determine whether a portable analyzer is valid for measuring cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma lactate levels in HIV infected individuals. Method: CSF and plasma were collected from 178 subjects. Samples tested by the Accutrend® portable analyzer were compared to those tested by a reference device (SYNCHRON LX® 20). Results: The portable analyzer had in plasma sensitivity of 0.95 and specificity 0.87. For CSF the specificity was 0.95; the sensitivity 0.33; the negative predictive value was 95% and the positive predictive value 33%. Conclusions: These findings support the validity of the portable analyzer in measuring lactate concentrations in CSF that fall within the normal range. The relatively poor positive predictive value indicates that a result above the reference range may represent a “false positive test”, and should be confirmed by the reference device before concluding abnormality.

The pandemic of HIV/AIDS continues to grow daily. Incident cases among women, intravenous drug users and ethnic minorities comprise the fastest growing segment of the HIV-infected population, and the number of HIV-infected individuals over the age of 50 is growing rapidly. Today, the central nervous system and the immune system are seen as main targets of HIV infection. Significant progress in the knowledge and treatment of AIDS has been obtained in recent years. The neurological manifestations directly related to HIV are acute viral meningitis, chronic meningitis, HIV-associated dementia (HAD), vacuolar myelopathy, and involvement of the peripheral nervous system.