Lab tests
HIV test report explainer
HIV reports use laboratory words that do not match everyday ones: a screen is reported as reactive or non-reactive, a follow-up test as detected or not detected, and monitoring results as copies per mL and cell counts. Add your report below to see which kind of test each line is and what its wording stands for.
Explain your HIV test report
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- 2. Check itPersonal details are removed on your device. You approve what is sent.
- 3. Read itSummary, table of results, terms and questions to ask.
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What you get
- Screening, confirmatory and monitoring tests separated, so it is clear which line is which.
- Result words such as reactive, non-reactive, detected and indeterminate quoted and then defined.
- Viral load and CD4 lines shown with the units and any range printed on the report.
- Questions to take to the clinic or clinician who arranged the test.
Wording you may see on an HIV report
- Reactive and non-reactiveThe screening test did or did not react with the sample; laboratories use these words for a screen instead of positive and negative
- Antigen/antibody (Ag/Ab) or 4th generation testA screen that looks for a protein from the virus (p24 antigen) and for antibodies the body makes against the virus
- Confirmatory or supplemental testA second, different test run after a reactive screen, such as an antibody differentiation assay
- HIV-1 and HIV-2The two types of the virus, which some tests report on separate lines
- Viral load (HIV RNA, PCR)The amount of the virus's genetic material in the blood, in copies/mL and sometimes also as a log value
- Not detected, or below the limit of quantificationPhrases a viral load line uses when the test did not find, or could not count, that genetic material
- CD4 count and CD4 percentThe number and the share of one type of white blood cell
What this tool cannot tell you
An HIV report is one step in a testing sequence, and the wording of a single line, a screening line above all, is not the conclusion of that sequence. How results are read also depends on when the sample was taken and which test was used, which the clinic knows and this tool does not. MedicDecode explains the terms and units on your report. It does not tell you your HIV status, comment on treatment, or say what a viral load or CD4 figure means for you; the clinic that arranged the test does that.
Common questions
Why does the report say reactive instead of positive?
Reactive describes what happened in the screening test: the sample produced a reaction. Laboratories keep that word for screens because a screen is normally followed by a second, different test before a final result is issued. Your clinic can tell you where your report sits in that sequence.
What is the difference between an antigen/antibody test and a viral load?
They look for different things. An antigen/antibody test looks for a viral protein and for the body's antibodies, and reports a word. A viral load test counts the virus's genetic material and reports a number, and the explanation labels each line with the kind of test it is.
What does 'below the limit of quantification' mean on a viral load line?
Every viral load test has a lowest amount it can count reliably, and that limit is usually printed on the report. The phrase says the result fell under that limit, so it is a statement about the test's measuring range. Ask your clinic how they read it alongside your earlier results.
Words you may see on this report
Tap a word for its plain-English meaning, an example line and what it does not mean.
- ALT (Alanine Aminotransferase)
ALT is an enzyme found mainly in the liver; when liver cells are irritated or damaged, more ALT leaks into the blood.
- AST (Aspartate Aminotransferase)
AST is an enzyme found in the liver, muscles, heart and other tissues; raised levels can signal stress or damage in one of these.
- Bilirubin
Bilirubin is a yellow substance made when old red blood cells break down; the liver processes it so it can leave the body.
- Creatinine
Creatinine is a waste product from normal muscle activity that the kidneys filter out, so its blood level helps show how well the kidneys work.
- CRP (C-Reactive Protein)
CRP is a protein made by the liver that rises quickly when there is inflammation or infection in the body.
- Culture and Sensitivity
A culture and sensitivity test grows germs from a sample to identify them, then checks which antibiotics can stop them.
- eGFR (Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate)
eGFR is an estimate of how well your kidneys filter waste from your blood, calculated from a creatinine blood test plus details like age.
- Electrolytes
Electrolytes are minerals in the blood, such as sodium, potassium and chloride, that carry an electric charge and help the body work.
- ESR (Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate)
ESR measures how fast red blood cells sink in a tube of blood over an hour; a faster rate can be a general sign of inflammation.
- Fasting Sample
A fasting sample is blood taken after you have had nothing to eat or drink except water for a set number of hours.
- Ferritin
Ferritin is a protein that stores iron; its blood level gives a good idea of how much iron the body has in reserve.
- HbA1c
HbA1c shows your average blood sugar over roughly the past two to three months by measuring how much sugar is attached to red blood cells.
Medicines connected to this test
Their official labels mention this kind of test. Each is explained in plain English.
- Dolutegravir
an HIV-1 integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI), a type of HIV medicine
- Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate
A nucleotide analog medicine. The label calls it an HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitor and an HBV reverse transcriptase inhibitor. The FDA class is not listed.