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Comparison of HIV-1 RNA level estimated with plasma and DBS samples: a pilot study from India (South)
S David1, J Sachithanandham, J Jerobin
1Department of Clinical Virology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu-632004, India.
Purpose:
The use of dried blood spots (DBS) for HIV-1 viral load determination could greatly enhance the management of HIV infected individuals in resource-limited countries.
Objective:
To compare the HIV-1 viral load values obtained between parallel collected plasma and DBS.
Materials And Methods:
DBS and plasma samples were collected from 62 HIV-1 infected individuals and were used for determination of HIV-1 RNA concentrations using the Abbot real-time HIV-1 PCR.
Result:
Mean of the log difference of viral load values between plasma and DBS was -0.41 log. DBS viral load values significantly correlated with plasma viral load (r = 0.9818, P < 0.0001).
Conclusion:
These results suggest that DBS samples can be used as an alternative to plasma for the estimation of HIV-1 viral load if samples are appropriately stored.
