Report of a false-positive HIV test result and the potential use of additional tests in establishing HIV serostatus.
Considering the lifelong implications of a positive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test result, physicians should be aware of the limitations of tests for HIV. A 43-year-old man had a reactive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and an indeterminate result on Western blot analysis. The results of subsequent enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot tests were interpreted as positive, and the patient was informed that he had HIV infection. Persistently undetectable plasma HIV-1 RNA, combined with normal physical examination findings, CD4(+) cell count, and CD4/CD8 ratio, prompted further testing, which revealed that the patient was not infected with HIV. False-positive HIV test results are uncommon, but they can occur. In the appropriate clinical setting, follow-up and the use of other laboratory tests, such as determination of plasma viral load, may help identify such cases.
Mylonakis
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E
Infectious Disease Division, Massachussets General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114-2696. emylonakis@partners.org
Paliou
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M
Greenbough
T C
TC
Flaningan
T P
TP
Letvin
N L
NL
Rich
J D
JD
D015492:AIDS Serodiagnosis; D000328:Adult; D015153:Blotting, Western; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015497:HIV-1; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D019562:Viral Load
D012367:RNA, Viral