Since 1995 - Non Profit Healthcare Advice

DNA PCR Test For Diagnosing HIV

06/21/2006

Question:

For some testing sites, they claim that DNA PCR is so sensitivie (chance of false negative is very very low). If you have a negative result after 28 days, the result is conclusive and you don`t need further testing. Is it true? I know that this test is not approved by the FDA. However, if the test does not give a false negative, I`m willing to try it. Thank you very much.

Answer:

There is the possibility of a false positive PCR result– that is why this test should not be used for diagnosis. The correct test for diagnosis is an EIA or ELISA– if that test is negative, nothing more needs to be done. If that test is positive, then it needs to be confirmed by a western blot test.

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