Misdiagnosis of HIV Infection
Authors: Charmagne Goodman, Wesley Emmons, James Newton
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1999)

Letters5 October 1999Misdiagnosis of HIV InfectionCharmagne Goodman, MD, Wesley Emmons, MD, and James Newton, MDCharmagne Goodman, MDNaval Medical Center Portsmouth; Portsmouth, VA 23708 (Goodman)Naval Medical Center Portsmouth; Portsmouth, VA 23708 (Emmons)Naval Medical Center Portsmouth; Portsmouth, VA 23708 (Newton)Search for more papers by this author, Wesley Emmons, MDNaval Medical Center Portsmouth; Portsmouth, VA 23708 (Goodman)Naval Medical Center Portsmouth; Portsmouth, VA 23708 (Emmons)Naval Medical Center Portsmouth; Portsmouth, VA 23708 (Newton)Search for more papers by this author, and James Newton, MDNaval Medical Center Portsmouth; Portsmouth, VA 23708 (Goodman)Naval Medical Center Portsmouth; Portsmouth, VA 23708 (Emmons)Naval Medical Center Portsmouth; Portsmouth, VA 23708 (Newton)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-131-7-199910050-00030 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Rich and colleagues (1) described three patients given a false diagnosis of HIV-1 infection on the basis of falsely positive HIV-1 plasma viral load test results. The authors urged caution in using HIV-1 plasma viral load testing to diagnose HIV infection. We agree, and urge caution for the converse: Viral load testing should not be used to exclude a diagnosis of HIV-1 infection. We reviewed the charts of the 324 seropositive patients enrolled in our HIV clinic and found 13 patients (4%) receiving no antiretroviral therapy who had plasma viral loads less than 400 HIV RNA copies/mL; ...References1. Rich JD, Merriman NA, Mylonakis E, Greenough TC, Flanigan TP, Mady BJ, et al . Misdiagnosis of HIV infection by HIV-1 plasma viral load testing: a case series. Ann Intern Med. 1999;130:37-9. LinkGoogle Scholar2. Roth WK, Weber M, Seifried E. Feasibility and efficacy of routine PCR screening of blood donations for hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus, and HIV-1 in a blood-bank setting. Lancet. 1999;353:359-63. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Greenough TC, Sullivan JL, Desrosiers RC. Declining CD4 T-cell counts in a person infected with nef-deleted HIV-1. N Engl J Med. 1999;340:236-7. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Charmagne Goodman, MD; Wesley Emmons, MD; James Newton, MDAffiliations: Naval Medical Center Portsmouth; Portsmouth, VA 23708 (Goodman)Naval Medical Center Portsmouth; Portsmouth, VA 23708 (Emmons)Naval Medical Center Portsmouth; Portsmouth, VA 23708 (Newton) PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoHave We Treated AIDS Too Well? Rationing and the Future of AIDS Exceptionalism David J. Casarett and John D. Lantos Misdiagnosis of HIV Infection by HIV-1 Plasma Viral Load Testing: A Case Series Josiah D. Rich , Nathan A. Merriman , Eleftherios Mylonakis , Thomas C. Greenough , Timothy P. Flanigan , Brian J. Mady , and Charles C.J. Carpenter Misdiagnosis of HIV Infection Josiah D. Rich , Eleftherios Mylonakis , and Timothy P. Flanigan Misdiagnosis of HIV Infection Walter Palmas Metrics 5 October 1999Volume 131, Issue 7 Page: 547 Keywords Antiretroviral therapy Blood plasma Cells HIV HIV infections HIV-1 Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction RNA Viral load Western blot ePublished: 15 August 2000 Issue Published: 5 October 1999 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 1999 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...