How Long To Receive My Hiv Test Results?

[757neg4poz]

I had my bloodwork for PrEP done on Thursday and I didn't get a call today about my test results. Does the antibody/antigen test take longer than the regular HIV test?

[Guest JizzDumpWI]

Not too much, but typically my clinic tells me a week... I would call them Thursday.

[seaguy]

Doctor shoulda told you that to begin with.

[jtonic]

Mine took 2 weeks on one occasion. It depends where they send the samples to. Some clinics do on-site, others ship to a centralized lab. Your doctor should have told you. Or you should have asked this question at the clinic. Give them a call. We could be saying anything here, it all depends on your clinic.

[757neg4poz]

Received my HIV- test results, but it turns out that there was a lab screwup, and I got the regular 3rd generation test instead of the fourth generation test the doctor ordered... And that Medicaid didn't apparently cover the blood work as I got a bill for it...

[rawTOP]

It should have taken 20 minutes. These days I'd say it's unprofessional to not have a rapid test as the first line test.

[jtonic]

It should have taken 20 minutes. These days I'd say it's unprofessional to not have a rapid test as the first line test.

 

Blood-work for PrEP does not take 20 minutes, as it requires an RNA (antibody+antigen) test to make sure he does not exhibit allergies or resistance before they prescribe medication. As he mentioned, those tests are sent to labs, which takes minimum 24 hours.

Edited September 17, 2014 by jtonic

[757neg4poz]

From my meager knowledge of biology, I don't think the antigen test tests for RNA but rather for a protein HIV produces? I've read however there is a rapid test out there that tests for both the antigen and HIV antibody, but I don't know about its reliability or cost.

[jtonic]

From my meager knowledge of biology, I don't think the antigen test tests for RNA but rather for a protein HIV produces? I've read however there is a rapid test out there that tests for both the antigen and HIV antibody, but I don't know about its reliability or cost.

 

You're right, I mixed up the vocabulary.

 

From aids.gov:

 

Antibody Tests

 

The most common HIV tests look for HIV antibodies in your body, rather than looking for HIV itself:

• Enzyme immunoassay (EIA) tests use blood, oral fluid, or urine to detect HIV antibodies. Results for these tests can take up to two weeks.
• Rapid HIV antibody tests also use blood, oral fluid, or urine to detect HIV antibodies. Results for these tests can take 10–20 minutes.

If you get a positive result from either of these tests, you will need to take another test, called a Western blot test, to confirm that result. It can take up to two weeks to confirm a positive result.

 

Antigen Tests

 

These tests are not as common as antibody tests, but they can be used to diagnose HIV infection earlier—from 1-3 weeks after you are first infected with HIV. Antigen tests require a blood sample.

 

[rawTOP]

Blood-work for PrEP does not take 20 minutes, as it requires an RNA (antibody+antigen) test to make sure he does not exhibit allergies or resistance before they prescribe medication. As he mentioned, those tests are sent to labs, which takes minimum 24 hours.

Not how my doc did it. The tests that took time were the liver tests.