[Question #3884] Elisa Antibody Test

86 months ago

Dr Hook you posted on forum that Elisa antibody blood test gives false negative 1 out of 20.
But I was reading on quest diagnostic web that antibody test have 99,7 accuracy, 3 out of 1000 false negative.
On government web says that Elisa is extremely sensitive.
Now you make me nervous ,in your opinion;
After protected penetrative sex I had
Elisa at 7 or 8 weeks
Elisa at one year
Rapid antibody only at 2 years (2of them)
Rapid 4th generation st 3 years.
I have phlegm in the back of my throat for a while. Always need to clear my throat,white foam mucus.
What that could be?
Do I need more test?
Best regards,

Edward W. Hook M.D.

86 months ago

You have had at least 4 high quality tests at times when they provide highly reliable results. There is no reason that you have mentioned that suggests and reason not to believe your test results and I would urge you to do so. Phlegm in the back of the throat does not suggest HIV and you should not link your concern about HIV to concerns about HIV. You do not need more tests. More tests would give the same result unless you have had recent exposures which put you at risk. EWH
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86 months ago

Dr Hook,

Thank you for your answer.

One more question please,

Phlegm in the throat bothers me maybe for 2 years,morning mostly.

I have to cough it out every 20 seconds.looks like it coming out from lungs .

I had appointments with ent and Gastro doctors, they give me prescriptions ,but didn’t help.

In your opinion what that could be?

Thank you for your time,

No more questions.

Edward W. Hook M.D.

86 months ago

There are many reasons for this sort of throat/phlegm problem. Sinus problems, allergies are among the causes. STIs typically do not cause symptoms, even when in the throat.

My advice would be work with your doctor on this. Sometimes it takes some trial and error to find out what will work. EWH

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85 months ago

Dr Hook ,

This is from uk web ,also quest diagnostics have very identical article.

Is this is trusting article?

Or like you said 1out of 20 false negative ?

What is a ‘false negative’ test result?

A false negative test result occurs when the test shows negative and the person is really HIV positive.

This is very rare and usually occurs during the window period when people are newly infected but the test can’t quite pick up the infection.

As with other types of tests, there is always be a small margin of error. With antibody-only tests (3rd generation) only 0.3% of tests (3 tests in every 1000) will be a false negative after 3 months.

Edward W. Hook M.D.

85 months ago

All of this can be true at the same time. Remember that typically much less than 1% of all HIV tests are positive. The period when the antibody-only tests have most of their performance problems is very early in the course of infection when antibodies are just beginning to be formed. Further the precision of scientific studies typically depends on the numbers of tests performed as well as the test that is used. The estimate that as many as 1 in 20 tests can be negative is a general statement conservatively reporting the results of some studies. HIV tests, testing for a relatively rare occurrence (recently acquired HIV infection) are among the most reliable of all scientific tests. You have had multiple negative tests and I urge you to believe them. I also urge you to stay off the internet where statements get twisted around to make people such as yourself unnecessarily nervous. I urge you to believe your tests and stop worrying.

This is my 3rd response to your questions. Thus, as per Forum Guidelines, this thread will be closed later today. EWH

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