title: Cross-contamination during processing of dried blood spots used for rapid diagnosis of HIV-1 infection of infants is rare and avoidable.
abstract: Dried blood spot (DBS) samples are a convenient way to collect infant blood for HIV-1 diagnostic testing. Minimizing the risk of false positives is critical for diagnostic tests. A protocol for processing and testing DBS for infant HIV-1 diagnosis was evaluated to identify the rate and source of false-positive results. DBS were created on Flinders Technology Associates (FTA) filter paper with 500 copies/punch (high) or 5000 copies/punch (very high) concentrations of HIV-1 DNA. Blank discs of filter paper punched after DBS samples were tested for carry-over of HIV-1 DNA using nested PCR for the pol region. No false positives were detected in the 40 series using high concentration DBS. In series with very high concentrations of HIV-1, 8/246 (3%) reactions were falsely positive. When tubes were spun prior to opening, contact with caps minimized, and spaces left between lanes of the gel, repeat second-round PCR of five false positives resulted in only one repeat false-positive PCR. This study outlines procedures that minimize false-positive results for nested PCR of HIV-1 DNA from DBS.
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1959 NE Pacific St., Seattle, WA 98195, United States. camitch@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Kelli
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kraft
authors.forename: Do
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Frenkel
mesh_terms: D001769:Blood / Q000821:virology*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003890:Desiccation; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral