Can AIDS be detected through routine physical examination?

The answer is no. HIV antibody screening is basically not included as a default item in the annual physical examinations we usually do for general admissions, employment, and work units. Therefore, even if the physical examination report is full of small upward ticks, the possibility of HIV infection cannot be completely ruled out.

The core purpose of routine physical examination is to assess basic health status and detect common and high-risk health problems such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension, abnormal liver and kidney function, and common organ diseases. The items are generally fixed in the categories of blood routine, biochemistry, chest X-ray, and abdominal B-ultrasound. HIV is a special screening for infectious diseases. Firstly, it involves very strict privacy protection requirements. Secondly, it does not fall into the scope of general screening. Hospitals and physical examination institutions will not add it to ordinary physical examination packages by default.

I used to meet a 27-year-old Internet practitioner when I was helping to sort out cases in the infectious disease department. He had unprotected high-risk sex six months ago. After that, he just happened to catch up with the annual physical examination arranged by the company. All indicators were normal. He was completely relieved until he continued to have low The fever and swollen lymph nodes had not improved for almost three weeks, so I remembered to go to the hospital for a check-up. The results showed that HIV antibodies were positive. At that time, he was very confused when he took the previous physical examination report and said that I had just checked my body and there were no problems. In fact, I had confused the scope of routine physical examination and special screening.

Of course, not all physical examinations with the word "routine" cannot detect AIDS at all. For example, in civil service recruitment, military recruitment, and entry physical examinations in some regional institutions, HIV screening will be included as mandatory items. Many high-end physical examination packages purchased by many people include four infectious diseases such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis, and AIDS by default. In this case, as long as the window period has passed, it can be detected. This is why many people think that "routine physical examinations for AIDS" are not necessary.

So you really don’t need to worry about routine physical examinations. If you have high-risk behaviors, don’t wait for routine physical examinations to give you the answer. Go directly to the local CDC, or just find the dermatology and venereology department or the infectious disease department of a public hospital to get an HIV test. The cost is usually dozens of yuan. The CDC can also do free anonymous screening. The results are completely confidential, which is much more reliable than guessing at the routine physical examination report. In addition, it should be noted that it is best to test 4 weeks after high-risk behaviors to avoid the window period to get accurate results.