Posted: August 16th, 2017

When assisting the patient to interpret a negative HIV test result, the nurse informs the patient that the results mean

When assisting the patient to interpret a negative HIV test result, the nurse informs the patient that the results mean
a) his body has not produced antibodies to the AIDS virus.
A negative test result indicates that antibodies to the AIDS virus are not present in the blood at the time the blood sample for the test is drawn.
b) he has not been infected with HIV.
A negative test result should be interpreted as demonstrating that if infected, the body has not produced antibodies (which take from 3 weeks to 6 months or longer). Therefore, subsequent testing of an at-risk patient must be encouraged.
c) he is immune to the AIDS virus.
The test result does not mean that the patient is immune to the virus, nor does it mean that the patient is not infected. It just means that the body may not have produced antibodies yet.
d) antibodies to the AIDS virus are in his blood.
When antibodies to the AIDS virus are detected in the blood, the test is interpreted as positive.