[Question #9300] Follow up

34 months ago

Sorry for my bad English grammar. I am sorry to post a new question but I got confused by replies from Dr Hook and didn’t have a chance to ask further. (Partly because I am not an English native speaker, I have no offence to Dr Hook!) Your help is extraordinarily important to me as I don’t believe the nurse and I have full belief in your expertise. I would be extremely grateful if you could help with my questions!

I took the following tests 420 days (over 1 year) after sex and here is what I have on my lab report:

Syphilis IgG/IgM by EIA Negative

Hep B surface Ag (HBsAg) Negative

Hep.C Ab ELISA ( 3rd Gen ) Not Detected

HIV 1&2 Abs/P24 Ag screen. Not Detected

Would you please explain these tests for me？

1.HIV 1&2 Abs/P24 Ag screen., is this the correct test to take? I am extremely confused about abbreviations: what is ‘Abs’? I looked at others threads on this website that you recommended fourth generation agab hiv test. Is this the test I had? I am just really worried that I had a wrong test.

2.The other 3 tests, are they the right ones? Dr Hook told me they are reliable but there were some grammar errors in his answers so that makes me anxious. Can I confirm with you that all of these tests are the right ones and conclusive?

I hope that I am splitting hairs but you response will save my life and stop my anxiety. Really really thank you!!

34 months ago

Sorry, the last two tests results are ‘ not detected’:

Hep.C Ab ELISA ( 3rd Gen ) Not Detected

HIV 1&2 Abs/P24 Ag screen. Not Detected

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

34 months ago

Welcome back. But in the future, you can always ask the doctor who ordered the tests, or the lab that did them, to explain any terms you do not understand. (In general, laboratories use terminology intended for doctors and other professionals, not for the patients themselves. But most will happily explain if patients ask; I assume that's true in China as well as western countries.)

1. You had the correct test. HIV 1&2 Abs/P24 Ag screen is the correct test, for HIV types 1 and 2. Abs = antibody and P24Ag = P24 antigen, so this was a standard AgAb test, which is the same as "4th generation".

2. All other tests also were the correct ones.

"Not detected" is the same as "negative".

Next time you feel the need for testing, go to a doctor or clinic instead of ordering your own tests online or at a lab. Or if you still request your own tests, you can ask questions like this of the lab before the blood is drawn. It should not be necessary to spend $25 USD on this or any other online forum!

But I do hope these replies are what you need. Let me know if anything isn't clear.

HHH, MD

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34 months ago

Thanks very much for your reply. It really helps a lot! ! And thank you for your suggestion for future tests.

So just to confirm once more:

P24Ag = P24 Ag = P24 antigen

HIV 1&2 Abs = HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies

and the test I had detects all of the above so it’s a standard 4th generation test, Is my summary correct?

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

34 months ago

All correct.---

34 months ago

Thanks very much for your help, Dr Handsfield. You are really helping me a lot.

I am aware of the policy of this forum: anxiety driven questions are not allowed. So I promise this will be my last one.

However, I feel really anxious and can’t sleep. I actually gained the basic knowledge of HIV and STI in the last month. I think I don’t have a proper sexual education experience. Thus, Dr Handsfield, if you you permit, I would like to use my last follow-up to ask you a very very silly question which is always in my mind and I can’t get rid of it. Please bear with me if you feel my question is too stupid. I promise I will then seek counselling for my OCD if my anxiety continues. I will not come back to this forum to bother you.

My question is:

In my last reply, I made a grammar error where I used an uppercase letter after a comma. The correct summary should be:

So just to confirm once again:

P24Ag = P24 Ag = P24 antigen

HIV 1&2 Abs = HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies

and the test I had detects all of the above so it’s a standard 4th generation test.

Is my summary correct?

Could you confirm that you understand my English and answer this question again? I just want to make sure that you understand my question. I fear that you misunderstood my question because of my grammar errors.

I really really appreciate your help.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

34 months ago

The minor punctuation error meant nothing and did not change the English meaning or my understanding. I didn't even notice it and it took me a couple of minutes to even find it now! The English language isn't nearly so precise!

That concludes this thread. Stop overthinking all this. You have none of the infections for which you were tested. Believe it, stop worrying, and move on.

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