“HIV blood work?”
Hi, I have a question regarding an HIV test. I took one in December and it came back negative. I just had blood work done in February and the doctor said I was very anemic. I’m wondering if anemia would have an effect on the test I took in December. Is it possible I had a false negative? Would the test still be accurate? Especially because the last time I had sex was 5 years ago and I just now built up the courage to get tested. Would those 5 years affect the results as well?
Female | 23 years old
Complaint duration: 2 months
Conditions: Anemia
4 Answers
Anemia does not affect the test result
Thanks for the question. You didn't have HIV in December. But you must have a workup for the cause of the anemia.
You are okay. Your negative test is considered valid. The anemia does cause an HIV test to be negative.
Anemia is not a known cause of false-positive tests for HIV.
Carl Lauter MD, MACP, FAAAAI, FIDSA
Section Head, Section of Allergy and Immunology
Member, Section of Infectious Diseases
Professor, OUWB School of Medicine
William Beaumont Hospital - Royal Oak
3535 West 13 Mile, Suite 605
Royal Oak, Michigan 48073
Mobile 2488912451
Patient Office 2485510495
Fax 2485517268
Carl.lauter@beaumont.edu
Carl Lauter MD, MACP, FAAAAI, FIDSA
Section Head, Section of Allergy and Immunology
Member, Section of Infectious Diseases
Professor, OUWB School of Medicine
William Beaumont Hospital - Royal Oak
3535 West 13 Mile, Suite 605
Royal Oak, Michigan 48073
Mobile 2488912451
Patient Office 2485510495
Fax 2485517268
Carl.lauter@beaumont.edu
