Evolution in the sensitivity of quantitative HIV-1 viral load tests

• Published in: Journal of clinical virology Vol. 52; pp. S77 - S82
• Main Authors: Cobb, Bryan R., Vaks, Jeffrey E., Do, Tri, Vilchez, Regis A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.12.2011
• Subjects: Allergy and Immunology; Guidelines as Topic - standards; HIV Infections - diagnosis; HIV Infections - immunology; HIV Infections - virology; HIV viral load; HIV-1; HIV-1 - genetics; HIV-1 - immunology; HIV-1 - pathogenicity; Human immunodeficiency virus 1; Humans; Infectious Disease; Lower limit of detection; Lower limit of quantification; Real-time PCR; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction - standards; RNA, Viral - analysis; Sensitivity and Specificity; Viral Load - immunology; Viral Load - methods; LOD; HIV-1; LLoQ; ART; kPCR; Lower limit of detection; CA-HIM Test; Real-time PCR; HIV viral load; PCR; TaqMan ® HIV-1 Test v1.0; Lower limit of quantification; TaqMan ® HIV-1 Test v2.0; WHO; lower limit of quantitation; World Health Organization; antiretroviral therapy; COBAS ®AmpliPrep/COBAS ® TaqMan ® HIV-1 Test version 1.0; kinetic polymerase chain reaction; COBAS ®AmpliPrep/COBAS ® TaqMan ® HIV-1 Test version 2.0; COBAS ® AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR Test version 1.5; lower limit of detection; polymerase chain reaction
• ISSN: 1386-6532; 1873-5967; 1873-5967
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcv.2011.09.015

Significant advancements in molecular diagnostics have been made since the inception and application of PCR-based technologies in clinical diagnostic laboratories and the management of HIV-1 infected patients. More recently, real-time PCR has improved the overall performance of assays used for detecting and quantifying HIV-1 RNA viral load in patients undergoing antiretroviral treatment. The effects of these changes and the interpretations of the HIV-1 viral load results are discussed in this review in the context of the different assays used, the viral dynamics of the HIV-1 virus, and the recent changes to HIV-1 treatment guidelines.