ArticleCureus2022
A False-Positive HIV Test: Severe Lupus Flare in Disguise.
Article in Cureus, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.
- Brief communication: observations of falsely reactive antigen/antibody HIV screening results in an emergency department setting.AIDS research and therapy · 2026Article
- False-Positive HIV Screening in New-Onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Presenting with Polyserositis and Lupus Nephritis.European journal of case reports in internal medicine · 2026Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have significant overlapping clinical features, making diagnosis challenging. We report a case of new-onset SLE initially mistreated as HIV infection due to a false-positive fourth-generation HIV antigen/antibody (Ag/Ab) test. A young female in her 30s presented with fatigue, oral thrush, and a positive HIV Ag/Ab combo test. She was started on fluconazole and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), but deteriorated with recurrent fevers and worsening mental status, requiring ICU admission. Surprisingly, her HIV confirmatory tests were negative, but rheumatologic serologies were positive. The overall clinical, laboratory and biopsy results confirmed the diagnosis of SLE. She was treated with pulse steroid therapy and immunosuppressive agents with marked improvement and was subsequently discharged. Rarely do SLE patients present with false-positive HIV tests, thus masking and delaying treatment for critical SLE. Clinicians should understand the limitations of screening tests and have high suspicions and consider the diagnoses of both diseases.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.