Interpreting Positive HIV Test Results in Pregnant Women

False-positive HIV test results are rare in the U.S., particularly among pregnant women.

Universal screening for HIV infection in pregnant women is a crucial component of efforts to decrease mother-to-child transmission of the virus. Some people believe that false-positive test results are more common in pregnant women than in others, but is this true?

CDC investigators retrospectively analyzed the results of more than 3.3 million HIV enzyme immunoassays (EIAs) performed between July 2007 and June 2008 among individuals aged ≥12 years. About 920,000 of the tests were conducted in pregnant women. All specimens with repeatedly reactive EIA results were subsequently tested with Western blot.

The false-positive rate for the HIV EIA was lower for pregnant women than for men or nonpregnant women (0.14% vs. 0.21%). However, given the lo…

Reviewing Author

Sonia Nagy Chimienti, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Sonia Nagy Chimienti, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Interpreting Positive HIV Test Results in Pregnant Women

Topics

Reviewing Author