Clinical Manual for Management of the HIV-Infected ... - myCME.com

Patient Education
In general settings and in situations not involving labor
and delivery, patient education should include the
following points:
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
Rapid HIV testing is an important health screening.
Learning that you have HIV infection early can
improve your prognosis (can keep you well).
Knowing that you have HIV infection can help
you take precautions to keep from passing HIV to
others.
You can refuse an HIV test, and it will not affect the
care you receive.
The results from the rapid tests are available at the
same visit, usually in less than 1 hour.
If the rapid test is positive, a second, confirmatory
test is always done to be sure the rapid test was
accurate.
The rapid test is very accurate—as accurate as the
standard HIV test.
It is important that you come back for the results of
the confirmatory test.
If the test is negative, you do not have HIV
infection, but the test may not show recent infection.
The test results are kept confidential. However, if
the confirmatory test is positive, the law requires
that the results be reported to the health department
(although this may not be the case in certain states).
There are places you can go for more information
and for counseling, care, or treatment.
References
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
Section 1—Testing and Assessment | 1–37
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Rapid HIV Testing [Web page]. Available
online at http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/rapid_
testing/. Accessed May 31, 2006.
Colfax GN, Buchbinder SP, Cornelisse PG,
et al. Sexual risk behaviors and implications for
secondary HIV transmission during and after HIV
seroconversion. AIDS. 2002 Jul 26;16(11):1529-35.
Glynn M, Rhodes P. Estimated HIV prevalence
in the United States at the end of 2003. In:
Program and abstracts of the National HIV
Prevention Conference—2005; June 12-
15, 2005; Atlanta. Abstract T1-B1101.
Hutchinson AB, Corbie-Smith G, Thomas SR, et
al. Understanding the patient’s perspective on rapid
and routine HIV testing in an inner-city urgent care
center. AIDS Educ Prev. 2004 Apr;16(2):101-14.
Marks G, Crepaz N, Senterfitt JW, et al.
Meta-analysis of high-risk sexual behavior in
persons aware and unaware they are infected
with HIV in the United States: implications for
HIV prevention programs. J Acquir Immune
Defic Syndr. 2005 Aug 1;39(4):446-53.
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening
for HIV: recommendation statement. Am Fam
Physician. 2005 Dec 1;72(11):2287-92.