ArticleBMC infectious diseases2012
HIV-1 low-level viraemia assessed with 3 commercial real-time PCR assays show high variability.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed.
- Mobile Health Intervention to Reduce HIV Transmission: A Randomized Trial of Behaviorally Enhanced HIV Treatment as Prevention (B-TasP).Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2018Trial
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- Efficacy of Bictegravir/Emtricitabine/Tenofovir Alafenamide (B/F/TAF) After A Viremic Event: A Pooled Analysis of Studies in People with HIV.Infectious diseases and therapy · 2025Article
- Asymptomatic Cerebrospinal Fluid HIV-1 Escape: Incidence and Consequences.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2025Article
- HIV Cerebrospinal Fluid Escape: Interventions for the Management, Current Evidence and Future Perspectives.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2025Review
- HIV-1 viral blips are associated with repeated and increasingly high levels of cell-associated HIV-1 RNA transcriptional activity.AIDS (London, England) · 2021Article
- Impact of low-level viraemia on virological failure among Asian children with perinatally acquired HIV on first-line combination antiretroviral treatment: a multicentre, retrospective cohort study.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2020Article
- INSTI-Based Triple Regimens in Treatment-Naïve HIV-Infected Patients Are Associated With HIV-RNA Viral Load Suppression at Ultralow Levels.Open forum infectious diseases · 2019Article
- Patterns of detectable viraemia among children and adults with HIV infection taking antiretroviral therapy in Zimbabwe.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2019Article
- Multicenter Evaluation of Two Next-Generation HIV-1 Quantitation Assays, Aptima Quant Dx and Cobas 6800, in Comparison to the RealTiJournal of clinical microbiology · 2018Article
- Darunavir/cobicistat showing similar effectiveness as darunavir/ritonavir monotherapy despite lower trough concentrations.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2018Observational
- Observational
- European Multicenter Study on Analytical Performance of Veris HIV-1 Assay.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2017Article
- Sexual Behaviors and Transmission Risks Among People Living with HIV: Beliefs, Perceptions, and Challenges to Using Treatments as Prevention.Archives of sexual behavior · 2016Article
- Viral blips during suppressive antiretroviral treatment are associated with high baseline HIV-1 RNA levels.BMC infectious diseases · 2016Article
- HIV Disclosure and Transmission Risks to Sex Partners Among HIV-Positive Men.AIDS patient care and STDs · 2016Article
- Factors associated with HIV viral load "blips" and the relationship between self-reported adherence and efavirenz blood levels on blip occurrence: a case-control study.AIDS research and therapy · 2016Observational
- Article
- Observational
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7 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundCurrent real-time PCR-based HIV-1 viral load (VL) assays allow the detection of residual viraemia in antiretroviral-treated patients. The clinical outcome of HIV1 patients experiencing low-level replication (<50 cop/mL) in comparison with fully suppressed patients is currently debated. We analysed variability of 3 VL assays <50 cop/mL, and evaluated the reproducibility of viral blips <100 cop/mL.
methodsThree commercial VL assays were tested: Versant HIV-1 RNA 1.0 kPCR (Siemens), Abbott Realtime HIV-1, and Cobas Ampliprep/Cobas Taqman HIV-1 v2.0 (Roche). Ten replicates of a reference sample at 4 low target dilutions were tested to evaluate assay variability. Prospective collection of 181 clinical samples with detectable VL <50 cop/mL was used to evaluate intra-and inter-assay variability by triplicate testing. Samples from 26 patients experiencing a viral blip were retested.
resultsAll assays showed substantial variability at low VL level: the coefficient of variation at 100, 50, 25 and 12 cop/mL ranged respectively from 32 to 44%, 35 to 68%, 41 to 83% and 33 to 77%. In the intra-assay evaluation of repeatability, 52.5 to 57.5% of detectable VL <50 cop/mL tested in triplicate showed at least one fully undetected result. Variability was similar in the inter-assay arm. The VL blips could only be reproduced in 19% of cases.
conclusionsThe most recent versions of widespread commercial VL assays showed substantial variability at low levels and residual viraemia could not be consistently reproduced. Patient outcome studies comparing residual VL to full suppression are therefore biased when using commercial assays.
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