Can PEP Treatment Effect The Antibody Tests Used For HIV

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Treatment After Exposure to HIV

For serious exposures, the U.S. Public Health Service recommends using a combination of three approved ARVs for four weeks. For less serious exposure, the guidelines recommend four weeks of treatment with two drugs: zidovudine (Retrovir, AZT) and lamivudine (Epivir, 3TC). In January 2001, the Centers for Disease Control warned against using nevirapine (Viramune) for PEP because of the risk of liver damage. See Fact Sheet 431 for more...

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POst PEP Antibody Test And Acute Symtoms

Hello Dr. Bob,I had and exposure and was put on Truvada and Isenress 96 hours after exposure for 2 months. I tested negative at week 8. At that time the doctor took me off PEP. My question is (1)....is the 8 week test accurate since I was still...

Response from Robert J. Frascino, M.D.

The Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation

Hi Bob,I see several worrisome problems with the information in your post. First, your PEP was begun 96 hours after your exposure. PEP is most effective if started immediately after an exposure. The more time that elapses between exposure and taking... Read more »

Re: Baseline HIV Testing before giving PEP? (PEP AND THE NEED FOR HIV SPECIALIST, 2011)

Thank you so much for your answer Dr. Bob, I will be looking for another HIV specialist to follow up with... but I just wanted to ask you one more thing regarding my original question; Had the baseline HIV test been actually done at the...

Response from Robert J. Frascino, M.D.

The Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation

Hello David,I agree it's irrational to think a hospital lab would run an HIV test, determine the results are positive, and then tell you the test was never run or canceled. Why would they do that? It really doesn't matter to the hospital... Read more »

Baseline HIV Testing before giving PEP? (PEP AND THE NEED FOR HIV SPECIALIST, 2011)

Hi there Dr. Frascino, I understand you must have tons of questions to answer so I'll try to be as short as I can. I went to the ER after a possible exposure, they called the ID doctor that was on call and he decided that my risk were...

Response from Robert J. Frascino, M.D.

The Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation

Hi David,I agree you should have an HIV-antibody baseline test. You can get it done now. If you are HIV infected, the HIV-antibody test will still be positive, even though you are taking PEP.I'm quite concerned on several levels about the ID... Read more »

PEP RELATED SIDE EFFECTS (PEP AND THE NEED FOR HIV SPECIALIST) (HARM REDUCTION STRATEGIES FOR MAGNETIC COUPLES, 2009)

Hi Doc,My wife got exposed to me ( Am hiv+ while she's -ve)through a condom break.She was put on combivir and Efavirenz but after 3 days she had serious side effects and our Doc changed her regimen to Combivir only. It's been 7 days since...

Response from Robert J. Frascino, M.D.

The Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation

Hello,I would advise your wife to immediately seek a second opinion form a more competent HIV specialist. Her current symptoms are most likely due to the AZT component of her Combivir. (It's one of the reasons I no longer recommend this drug... Read more »

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HIV DNA RT by PCR test and PEP medications

Posted by johnnyyop2011, 1 Reply

On June 16, I discovered I was exposed several times to HIV from March 15 to June 10.

I tested negative via an antibody tests both in April and on June 17.

On June 17, I was immediately put on Post Exposure Prophylaxis medications (Kaletra 200-50 mg... Read more »

PEP and testing for G-Man

Posted by Anonymous, 1 Reply

G-Man -

I have lifted a quote of yours from another post:

"If you are actually infected the disease will start replicating immediately and that is where ARS comes from in the 2 to 6 week range. The only things that can delay replication is PEP or... Read more »

pep talk please? need courage to get 3-month test

Posted by question_mark, 1 Reply

I need to have my three month test done. Actually, my three month 2 & 1/2 week test, because I've been procrastinating.

My last possible exposure would have been 8/19. I didn't think of it as being a "possible exposure" at the time. I gave... Read more »

Antibody test

Posted by Anonymous, 2 Replies

I asked my girlfriend to take a rapid antibody test in a clinic to see if she had HIV, as I found out she was injecting drugs. The result was negative but I am worried she cheated the test with Anti-viral drugs, is it possible?
I had all the symptoms... Read more »

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