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Case Reports
. 2023 Jan-Dec:11:23247096231171249.
doi: 10.1177/23247096231171249.

Why Wait? The Ethics of Disclosing HIV Screening Results

Zain Aryanpour  1 , Skye Opsteen  1 , Olivia T Van Gerwen  2 , Christina A Muzny  2 , Sonya L Heath  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Why Wait? The Ethics of Disclosing HIV Screening Results

Zain Aryanpour et al. J Investig Med High Impact Case Rep. 2023 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Counseling patients on their HIV test results is an important part of undergraduate and graduate medical education. However, many trainees and physicians feel ill prepared to counsel patients on potentially distressing results. We present a case involving early disclosure of a false-positive HIV screening test result to a patient and the downstream effects of this premature disclosure. This case highlights the importance of understanding the various HIV testing options available and the importance of education on effectively counseling patients on screening versus confirmatory HIV test results.

Keywords: HIV; HIV disclosure; false-positive HIV; medical education; patient counseling.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: O.T.V.G. has received grant support from the National Institutes of Health, Gilead Sciences Inc, and Abbott Molecular, and has served on an advisory board for Scynexis; C.A.M. has received grant support from the National Institutes of Health, Abbott Molecular, Lupin Pharmaceuticals, and Gilead Sciences, Inc; served on scientific advisory boards for Scynexis, Roche, BioTechN, and Abbott; and served as a consultant for Lupin and Cepheid. S.L.H. and Z.A. have no conflicts to report.

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