Multicenter Evaluation of the Cepheid Xpert^® HBV Viral Load Test

Accurate measurement of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA is important for the management of patients with chronic HBV infection. Here, the performance of the Xpert^® HBV Viral Load test (Xpert HBV Viral Load) versus the Roche COBAS^® Ampliprep/COBAS^® TaqMan^® system (CAP/CTM HBV) HBV test v2.0 was evaluated. From September 2017 to December 2017, a total of 876 prospectively collected or archived serum or EDTA plasma specimens from subjects chronically infected with HBV were tested using the Xpert HBV Viral Load and the CAP/CTM HBV v2.0 assays. Of the 876 specimens tested, 560 were within the quantitative range of both assays. The agreement between the two methods was 90.0%. No difference in plasma or serum samples was observed. Deming regression analysis showed a good correlation of the Xpert HBV Viral Load assay with the CAP/CTM HBV v2.0 assay. The Bland-Altman analysis showed a good agreement between the results of the Xpert HBV Viral Load assay and the CAP/CTM HBV assay, with a mean difference (±1.96 standard deviation) of 0.0091 ± 0.3852 Log IU/mL. Comparing the two assays, only nineteen specimens (2.1%) had a difference greater than 1.96 times the standard deviation. The Xpert^® HBV Viral Load test is suitable for monitoring patients with HBV infection and is useful in diagnostic settings.