Multicenter evaluation of use of dried blood and plasma spot specimens in quantitative assays for human immunodeficiency virus RNA: measurement, precision, and RNA stability.
Eleven laboratories evaluated the use of dried blood and plasma spots for quantitation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) RNA by two commercially available RNA assays, the Roche Amplicor HIV-1 Monitor and the bioMerieux NucliSens HIV-1 QT assays. The recovery of HIV RNA was linear over a dynamic range extending from 4,000 to 500,000 HIV type 1 RNA copies/ml. The Monitor assay appeared to have a broader dynamic range and seemed more sensitive at lower concentrations. However, the NucliSens assay gave more consistent results and could be performed without modification of the kit. HIV RNA was stable in dried whole blood or plasma stored at room temperature or at -70 degrees C for up to 1 year. Dried blood and dried plasma spots can be used as an easy and inexpensive means for the collection and storage of specimens under field conditions for the diagnosis of HIV infection and the monitoring of antiretroviral therapy.
Brambilla
Don
D
New England Research Center, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA.
Jennings
Cheryl
C
Aldrovandi
Grace
G
Bremer
James
J
Comeau
Anne Marie
AM
Cassol
Sharon A
SA
Dickover
Ruth
R
Jackson
J Brooks
JB
Pitt
Jane
J
Sullivan
John L
JL
Butcher
Ann
A
Grosso
Lynell
L
Reichelderfer
Patricia
P
Fiscus
Susan A
SA
D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020871:RNA Stability; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D013997:Time Factors; D019562:Viral Load; D014773:Virology / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D000998:Antiviral Agents; D012367:RNA, Viral