Postmortem enzyme immunoassay for human immunodeficiency virus

The reliability of postmortem enzyme immunoassay testing for antibody to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was assessed in blood and vitreous humor. Vitreous humor tested up to 34 hours post mortem and blood tested at least 58 days post mortem were consistently repeatedly positive for HIV antibody in patients with histopathologic criteria and premortem HIV test results that satisfied the Centers for Disease Control definition of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). There were no false-negative results in serum specimens, although one third of vitreous specimens that were tested 34 hours or more post mortem were negative in patients with AIDS. There were no false-positive results in control specimens from patients at autopsy without evidence of AIDS, despite prolonged postmortem intervals producing hemolysis and autolysis of the specimens. Postmortem enzyme immunoassay testing of blood and vitreous humor may be useful to screen for HIV infection in high-risk groups and for diagnosis of patients with histopathologic evidence of AIDS for medical, legal, and epidemiologic purposes.