Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date. Since my original question, my wife underwent a test which I think was called the Western Block test to confirm the presence of HIV. We were phoned by her doctor and told that the test result was "indeterminate" yet the doctor stressed to us that this should be read as a negative study and he was 99.9% sure she did not carry the virus. So shaken was I by the possibility that she was HIV+ following her original bloodwork, that I phoned an AIDS hotline to discuss the situation. They told me that pregnant women frequently test "false positive" for HIV antibodies and that there would be hope that further testing would be negative. Repeat testing is to be done in about 4 weeks but I am particularly concerned and would like to know whether her chances of being negative are in fact as high as her physician has tried to reassure us.
Your help thus far has been a wonderful shoulder to find and lean on and I was hoping that you could answer this question in the hopes of alleviating further concern. Thanking you in advance.
I wish that I could give you a better answer, but I have to stay with my original response.
There are several things in your story that I have problems resolving.
The report of a positive Elisa test, the "screening" test for HIV directed antibodies is absolutely never reported independently. When a positive Elisa test obtains, the Western Blot test is done automatically. This is standard procedure in all laboratories. If only the Elisa was done, the test is incomplete, pending the results of the Western Blot.
I do not know what AIDS hotline you called, but if they are saying that "pregnant women frequently test 'false positive' for HIV antibodies and that there would be hope that further testing would be negative," I believe that they are misinformed. The most common reason for a positive HIV test in a pregnant woman is that the patient is infected with the human immunodeficiency virus.
As with every laboratory test in medicine, there is a false positive and false negative rate with the tests for HIV. Still, the test is very reliable. Perhaps repeating these tests in a month would clarify the situation.
Your doctor is most familiar with the specifics of your wife's medical history and clinical condition. I cannot comment on the particulars of your wife's case, and I hope he has valid reasons for his opinion about your wife.
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