What the risks are:

Veins and arteries vary in size from one patient to another and from one side of the body to the other. Obtaining a blood sample from some people may be more difficult than from others.

Other risks associated with having blood drawn are slight but may include:

• Excessive bleeding
• Fainting or feeling light-headed
• Hematoma (blood accumulating under the skin)
• Infection (a slight risk any time the skin is broken)

Special considerations:

People who are at high risk (men who have sex with men, injection drug users and their sexual partners, commercial sex workers) should be regularly tested for HIV.

If the health care provider suspects early acute HIV infection, other tests (such as HIV viral load) will be needed to confirm this diagnosis, because the HIV ELISA/Western blot test will often be negative during this window period.