AIDSIMPACT SPECIAL ISSUE: WHEN GOOD NEWS IS BAD NEWS: PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT OF FALSE POSITVE DIAGNOSIS OF HIV

Rahul Bhattacharya (1) , Simon Barton (2) , Jose Catalan (3)

1 Psychiatry
2 Genito- Urinary Medicine
3 Psychological Medicine Unit

HIV testing is known to be stressful, however impact of false positive HIV results on individuals is not well documented. This is a series of four cases, who developed psychological difficulties and psychiatric morbidities, after being informed they had been misdiagnosed of HIV positive status. We look into documented cases of misdiagnosis and potential risks of misdiagnosis. The case series highlights the implications a false diagnosis HIV positive status can have, even when the diagnosis is rectified. Impact of misdiagnosis of HIV can lead to psychosocial difficulties and psychiatric morbidity, have public health and epidemiological implications and can lead to medico-legal conflict. This further reiterates the importance of HIV testing carried out ethically and sensitively, and in line with guidelines, respecting confidentiality and consent, and offering counselling pre-test and post-test, being mindful of the reality erroneous and false positive HIV test results. The implications of misdiagnosis are on the individual, their partners and social contacts, as well as for the community.

Mots clés: Life Sciences

Rahul Bhattacharya, Simon Barton, Jose Catalan. AIDSIMPACT SPECIAL ISSUE: WHEN GOOD NEWS IS BAD NEWS: PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT OF FALSE POSITVE DIAGNOSIS OF HIV. AIDS Care, 2008, 20 (05), pp.560-564. ⟨10.1080/09540120701867206⟩. ⟨hal-00513457⟩