Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026
Amplifying and Quantifying HIV-1 RNA in HIV Infected Individuals with Viral Loads Below the Limit of Detection by Standard Clinical Assays
Published on: September 26, 2011
Supersensitive Viral Load Assay in Predicting CD4-Guided Treatment Failure
Simone Langford1, Angele Gayet-Ageron, Chris Duncombe
1The HIV Netherlands Australia Thailand Research Collaboration (HIV-NAT), Bangkok, Thailand.
In HIV patients who discontinue highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the degree of HIV RNA suppression at the time of treatment interruption may predict success of re-treatment after the interruption (STI). A case-control substudy of the Staccato trial in Thailand included CD4-guided STI subjects with HIV RNA > 50 copies /ml (virological failure cases, n=11) and HIV RNA < 50 copies/ml (controls, n=22) after 12-24 weeks of HAART re-treatment following a median of 2 STI cycles. Controls were matched for age, gender and pre-ART CD4 count. HIV RNA with 5 copies/ml detection limit was determined on pre-virological failure samples. HIV RNA increased in cases compared to controls with each successive STI cycle (p-trend across time-points 0.004). The last HIV RNA below 50 copies/ml was significantly higher among cases compared to controls (p=.004). Measuring HIV RNA below 50 copies/ml may be useful in predicting virological failure to STI.
In HIV patients who discontinue highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the degree of HIV RNA suppression at the time of treatment interruption may predict success of re-treatment after the interruption (STI). A case-control substudy of the Staccato trial in Thailand included CD4-guided STI subjects with HIV RNA > 50 copies /ml (virological failure cases, n=11) and HIV RNA < 50 copies/ml (controls, n=22) after 12-24 weeks of HAART re-treatment following a median of 2 STI cycles. Controls were matched for age, gender and pre-ART CD4 count. HIV RNA with 5 copies/ml detection limit was determined on pre-virological failure samples. HIV RNA increased in cases compared to controls with each successive STI cycle (p-trend across time-points 0.004). The last HIV RNA below 50 copies/ml was significantly higher among cases compared to controls (p=.004). Measuring HIV RNA below 50 copies/ml may be useful in predicting virological failure to STI.
