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Had Unprotected Sex. Blood Test Done. Rapid Card Test Showed Negative. Worried

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Posted on Sat, 18 Aug 2012
Question: i have one query, in 2008 i had an unprotected sex with a girl and in 2010 i went for one medical test for pre-joining in IT infra, and recently also (2012) also i had one more blood test and they used rapid Card test and the result was negetive, can i trust on this Rapid Card test result. pls help me
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Answered by Dr. Dr. Prasad J (1 hour later)
Hi,

Thanks for the query.

Rapid card test is a useful screening test to look for HIV infection and it is fairly accurate when done after the window period. It is more than 98% sensitive and specific while predicting HIV.

In simple words a study conducted in the past reveal that every 1000 people who take Rapid antibody detection test only 3 can have a false negative report. That implies you have only 3% chances that your report is wrong. The values are much lower in your case (as you got the test done later after 2 years).

That being said, if your partner was from a region with high prevalence of HIV, you may repeat the test this time using conventional ELISA test.

Hope this answers your query. Let me know if you need any other information.

Regards
Dr. Prasad
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Dr. Prasad J

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2005

Answered : 3708 Questions

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Had Unprotected Sex. Blood Test Done. Rapid Card Test Showed Negative. Worried

Hi,

Thanks for the query.

Rapid card test is a useful screening test to look for HIV infection and it is fairly accurate when done after the window period. It is more than 98% sensitive and specific while predicting HIV.

In simple words a study conducted in the past reveal that every 1000 people who take Rapid antibody detection test only 3 can have a false negative report. That implies you have only 3% chances that your report is wrong. The values are much lower in your case (as you got the test done later after 2 years).

That being said, if your partner was from a region with high prevalence of HIV, you may repeat the test this time using conventional ELISA test.

Hope this answers your query. Let me know if you need any other information.

Regards
Dr. Prasad