ArticlePloS one2015
Finger Prick Dried Blood Spots for HIV Viral Load Measurement in Field Conditions in Zimbabwe.
Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed.
- Trial
- Feasibility and acceptability of task sharing collection of HIV viral load dried blood spot samples with community lay cadres: A cross-sectional diagnostic validation study in Zimbabwe.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Comparability and Stability of Serum Creatinine Concentration in Capillary and Venous Blood.British journal of biomedical science · 2023Article
- The plasma separation card as a novel solution for enhancing central laboratory capability for HIV-1 viral load monitoring in limited-access settings.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Field evaluation of HIV-1 viral load monitoring in adults and children receiving antiretroviral treatment in Nigeria by dried blood spot testing with RealTime HIV-1 on m2000.Journal of clinical virology : the official publication of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology · 2021Article
- Article
- Diagnosis of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2019Review
- Article
- Sensitivity and specificity of two dried blood spot methods for HIV-1 viral load monitoring among patients in Hanoi, Vietnam.PloS one · 2018Article
- A next-generation newborn screening pilot study: NGS on dried blood spots detects causal mutations in patients with inherited metabolic diseases.Scientific reports · 2017Article
- Interferon-γ-Inducible Protein 10 (IP-10) as a Screening Tool to Optimize Human Immunodeficiency Virus RNA Monitoring in Resource-Limited Settings.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2017Article
- Point-of-Care Viral Load Testing for Sub-Saharan Africa: Informing a Target Product Profile.Open forum infectious diseases · 2016Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn the context of a community-randomized trial of antiretrovirals for HIV prevention and treatment among sex workers in Zimbabwe (the SAPPH-IRe trial), we will measure the proportion of women with HIV viral load (VL) above 1000 copies/mL ("VL>1000") as our primary endpoint. We sought to characterize VL assay performance by comparing results from finger prick dried blood spots (DBS) collected in the field with plasma samples, to determine whether finger prick DBS is an acceptable sample for VL quantification in the setting.
methodsWe collected whole blood from a finger prick onto filter paper and plasma samples using venipuncture from women in two communities. VL quantification was run on samples in parallel using NucliSENS EasyQ HIV-1 v2.0. Our trial outcome is the proportion of women with VL>1000, consistent with WHO guidelines relating to regimen switching. We therefore focused on this cut-off level for assessing sensitivity and specificity. Results were log transformed and the mean difference and standard deviation calculated, and correlation between VL quantification across sample types was evaluated.
resultsA total of 149 HIV-positive women provided DBS and plasma samples; 56 (63%) reported being on antiretroviral therapy. VL ranged from undetectable-6.08 log10 using DBS and undetectable-6.40 log10 using plasma. The mean difference in VL (plasma-DBS) was 0.077 log10 (95%CI = 0.025-0.18 log10; standard deviation = 0.63 log10,). 78 (52%) DBS and 87 (58%) plasma samples had a VL>1000. Based on plasma 'gold-standard', DBS sensitivity for detection of VL>1000 was 87.4%, and specificity was 96.8%.
conclusionThere was generally good agreement between DBS and plasma VL for detection of VL>1000. Overall, finger prick DBS appeared to be an acceptable sample for classifying VL as above or below 1000 copies/mL using the NucliSENS assay.
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