Assessment of the Low-Cost Cavidi ExaVir Load Assay for Monitoring HIV Viral Load in Pediatric and Adult Patients

作者：Greengrass Vicki; Lohman Barbera; Morris Lisa; Plate Megan; Steele Pauline M; Walson Judd L; Crowe Suzanne M^*

来源：JAIDS: Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes , 2009, 52(3): 387-390.

DOI：10.1097/qai.0b013e3181b05f62

• HIV reverse transcriptase
• monitoring HIV infection
• pediatric testing
• resource-constrained countries
• viral load

Background: Viral load (VL) is a critical marker for monitoring HIV disease progression and response to antiretroviral therapy. In resource-constrained settings, there is a need for a simple and inexpensive assay to monitor infected adults and children.
Methods: We compared versions 2 and 3 of the ExaVir Load assay, Cavidi AB (HIV RT) with the Roche, COBAS Amplicor HIV-1 Monitor assay (HIV RNA) for quantifying HIV VL.
Results: The HIV RT version 2 assay showed good sensitivity with detection in 94% of samples with HIV RNA >1000 copies per milliliter. Adult samples were tested using HIV RT version 2 (n = 35) and version 3 (n = 23) assays with plasma volumes of 1 mL (recommended), 0.5 mL and 0.25 mL in comparison with HIV RNA. The HIV RT and HIV RNA assay results were comparable when tested using different volumes. Comparison of results from pediatric samples (n = 27), tested using 1 mL and a smaller volume by HIV RT version 2 were not significantly different.
Conclusions: The HIV RT assay was comparable to the HIV RNA assay with sensitivity approaching that of HIV RNA. Smaller volumes than the recommended I mL can be used, improving utility of this assay for pediatric monitoring.

• 出版日期2009-11-1