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HIV Prevention (Expert Forum)
False-Positive, still worried
Answered by
University of Washington
Seattle - WA
This forum is limited to prevention of HIV and to safe sex in general. If you believe you might have been exposed to HIV and want help to judge your risk, would like advice about HIV testing, or have questions about the effectiveness of condoms or the risks associated with specific sexual practices, this is the site for you.
IMPORTANT
No questions will be accepted on the treatment of HIV/AIDS or its complications, viral load, and similar topics. If you have questions about a specific STD other than HIV/AIDS, please visit the STD Forum. Questions that do not pertain to the above topics will be removed from the forum.
If you have not done so, please review other threads in our archives for questions similar to yours and Dr. Handsfield's replies. Questions that duplicate other frequent ones, for which abundant replies exist, and that have little educational value for other forum users, will be DELETED WITHOUT RESPONSE. YOUR PAYMENT WILL NOT BE REFUNDED. The most common examples of such questions are those about low risk exposures to HIV, such as oral sex, condom- protected intercourse hand-to-genital exposure, and nonsexual contact with possibly infected blood or body fluids as well as symptoms of early HIV infection.
No questions will be accepted on the treatment of HIV/AIDS or its complications, viral load, and similar topics. If you have questions about a specific STD other than HIV/AIDS, please visit the STD Forum. Questions that do not pertain to the above topics will be removed from the forum.
If you have not done so, please review other threads in our archives for questions similar to yours and Dr. Handsfield's replies. Questions that duplicate other frequent ones, for which abundant replies exist, and that have little educational value for other forum users, will be DELETED WITHOUT RESPONSE. YOUR PAYMENT WILL NOT BE REFUNDED. The most common examples of such questions are those about low risk exposures to HIV, such as oral sex, condom- protected intercourse hand-to-genital exposure, and nonsexual contact with possibly infected blood or body fluids as well as symptoms of early HIV infection.
False-Positive, still worried
by shatner, Jun 25, 2006 12:00AM
Hi,
Thanks for this site, it's been a great resource! First off, I'm a straight male with no history of drug use and relatively few sexual partners. I recently had a false positive HIV test which I'm still very concerned about. About a month ago, I was excercising in extreme heat. Later that day, I had a fever and wasn't feeling well. The next day I felt fine with no fever, I went to my GP and he thought it was heat exhaustion. My last sexual exposure was about 5 months prior with a promiscuous girl. I had previously noticed some spots on my penis that appeared to be sun spots, a few on the head and a couple on the shaft. These spots are pinhead sized or smaller are flat, and light-brown. They seemed to appear a couple of months after I had stopped having sex with this girl. The sex was mostly protected but there were a few occasions when it was not protected, I've had no sex partners since. I asked the doctor to look at these spots and he didn't think they were anything to be worried about. I asked for STD tests and the only ones he would do were for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and HIV.
Later that week, the doctor called me and told me that my HIV test was positive. I freaked out and started questioning the results. He told me that the test was an ELISA test and was very accurate. He said that he was going to have the results "verified" and wanted me to come back for a 2nd test which I did. The next day I went to a Planned Parenthood clinic and had another ELISA test done. In the meantime, I was sure I was positive and had extreme levels of stress. 4 days later, the Planned Parenthood test came back negative. I spoke with a counslor there and told her my story. She told me that I should return in a month for another test just to be sure. The next day, my GP called me and told me that the western blot was negative on the first test and therefore I had a false positive. Also, my 2nd test was negative. Again, they recommended that I do another test in a month and then again in 6 months.
Since this has happened, I've had mild abdominal pains, diarehha, aches and fatigue. Last week I came down with sore throat, runny nose, general cold-like symptoms, but no fever. I went back to the doctor and he just thought it was a common cold. It's been a week and I'm feeling better but still have the sniffles.
While the negative tests are reassuring, I'm still worried and was wondering how common false positives are on ELISA. Also might it indicate other health problems or STDs? This whole ordeal has had a huge effect on my life. I'm hoping that my recent cold is more due to stress but I'm afraid. I'll be tested in another week but I've found little about false postive ELISA tests and need more information. What are the chances that I really do have HIV with a false-positive result at 5 months after a possible exposure? Might a false-positive ELISA indicate another disease or condition?
Thanks for this site, it's been a great resource! First off, I'm a straight male with no history of drug use and relatively few sexual partners. I recently had a false positive HIV test which I'm still very concerned about. About a month ago, I was excercising in extreme heat. Later that day, I had a fever and wasn't feeling well. The next day I felt fine with no fever, I went to my GP and he thought it was heat exhaustion. My last sexual exposure was about 5 months prior with a promiscuous girl. I had previously noticed some spots on my penis that appeared to be sun spots, a few on the head and a couple on the shaft. These spots are pinhead sized or smaller are flat, and light-brown. They seemed to appear a couple of months after I had stopped having sex with this girl. The sex was mostly protected but there were a few occasions when it was not protected, I've had no sex partners since. I asked the doctor to look at these spots and he didn't think they were anything to be worried about. I asked for STD tests and the only ones he would do were for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and HIV.
Later that week, the doctor called me and told me that my HIV test was positive. I freaked out and started questioning the results. He told me that the test was an ELISA test and was very accurate. He said that he was going to have the results "verified" and wanted me to come back for a 2nd test which I did. The next day I went to a Planned Parenthood clinic and had another ELISA test done. In the meantime, I was sure I was positive and had extreme levels of stress. 4 days later, the Planned Parenthood test came back negative. I spoke with a counslor there and told her my story. She told me that I should return in a month for another test just to be sure. The next day, my GP called me and told me that the western blot was negative on the first test and therefore I had a false positive. Also, my 2nd test was negative. Again, they recommended that I do another test in a month and then again in 6 months.
Since this has happened, I've had mild abdominal pains, diarehha, aches and fatigue. Last week I came down with sore throat, runny nose, general cold-like symptoms, but no fever. I went back to the doctor and he just thought it was a common cold. It's been a week and I'm feeling better but still have the sniffles.
While the negative tests are reassuring, I'm still worried and was wondering how common false positives are on ELISA. Also might it indicate other health problems or STDs? This whole ordeal has had a huge effect on my life. I'm hoping that my recent cold is more due to stress but I'm afraid. I'll be tested in another week but I've found little about false postive ELISA tests and need more information. What are the chances that I really do have HIV with a false-positive result at 5 months after a possible exposure? Might a false-positive ELISA indicate another disease or condition?
Doctor's Answer
by H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D., Jun 25, 2006 12:00AM
, Jun 25, 2006 12:00AM
A significant mistake was made in handling your test results. I can't tell whether it was on the part of the laboratory or your provider. The lab should not have sent any ELISA result to your doc until the confirmatory test was done; and your doc should not have told you the ELISA result without knowing the result of confirmatory testing. As you learned, such results can be pretty stressful.
I don't have exact statistics in my head about the rate of false-positive ELISA results. With current test methods, I think it's only around 0.1% (1 in 1000), but don't quote me. (Other forum users might have accurate rates.) While that seems low, it means you are just like several thousand people tested every year.
The most important thing is that you can rely totally on the repeat tests and the Western blot results. You do not have HIV, period, full stop. The repeat tests your providers are recommending are for your personal reassurance, not because they think you really have it. They're just being conservative and careful. As to your symptoms, search the forum ("HIV symptoms", "ARS symptoms") to see the many times I have pointed out that symptoms NEVER are a reliable indicator of HIV infection. The test results count and your symptoms do not.
I hope this helps. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
I don't have exact statistics in my head about the rate of false-positive ELISA results. With current test methods, I think it's only around 0.1% (1 in 1000), but don't quote me. (Other forum users might have accurate rates.) While that seems low, it means you are just like several thousand people tested every year.
The most important thing is that you can rely totally on the repeat tests and the Western blot results. You do not have HIV, period, full stop. The repeat tests your providers are recommending are for your personal reassurance, not because they think you really have it. They're just being conservative and careful. As to your symptoms, search the forum ("HIV symptoms", "ARS symptoms") to see the many times I have pointed out that symptoms NEVER are a reliable indicator of HIV infection. The test results count and your symptoms do not.
I hope this helps. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
The specificity depends on the ELISA used and which study you are looking at. Most studies I have seen 99.5%+ to 100%.
I think the FDA minimum is 98%.