Prednisone and HIV test

[chipro123]

My girl friend and I recently took the clearview rapid HIV 1 and 2 antibody test. Her last unprotected sex was nine months ago. However, a week or two before she took the test, she was on a five day course of prednisone. Will this affect her negative result? Wii the prednisone cloak,  mask or somehow rid the body of the antibodies for HIV? Should we test again or do an NAT test?

[chipro123]

Thanks   Perfect   i appreciate it

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to the Forum.  I'll be pleased to answer your question.  We get many questions about the possibility of medications, and particularly steroid medications like prednisone, interfering with the accuracy of HIV tests. This is rarely a problem.  In your GF's case, while there is a theoretical chance that IF she were in the process of developing antibodies to HIV at the time she took prednisone this might DELAY (not prevent) development of antibodies, in her case, if she had caught HIV at the time of or before her last sexual exposure (9 months earlier) she would have developed antibodies long before she took the prednisone and her test would have been positive.  You can be confident that her recent prednisone would not, in any way, decrease the accuracy of her HIV test and be confident that she does not have HIV.

I hope this comment is helpful to you. EWH