The Significance of Low-Level Plasma HIV Viral Load on COBAS TaqMan® HIV-1 Assays for Patients with Undetectable Plasma Viral Load on COBAS Amplicor® Monitor Version 1.5

Abstract

Short-term detectable VL may be common with using TaqMan assay. This phenomenon did not result in new mutations or failure of HAART in study patients in the short term.

Performance Evaluation of the New Roche Cobas AmpliPrep/Cobas TaqMan HIV-1 Test Version 2.0 for Quantification of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 RNA

“…Significant increases in number of HIV-1 viral loads near the lower limit of detection (LLOD) were observed after CAP/CA v1.5 was switched to CAP/CTM v1.0 in centers testing HIV-1-seropositive patients (6,13,14,22). We investigated whether similar results can be expected with the CAP/CTM v2.0 test and whether these results are HIV-1 specific results, test abnormalities, or false-positive results due to contamination.…”

Correction of Underquantification of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Load with the Second Version of the Roche Cobas AmpliPrep/Cobas TaqMan Assay

“…However, as seen with the first version of this kit (16,18), the second version will probably also show an increased sensitivity at low viral loads in comparison with the CAP/CA PHS assay, as this fact is linked to the real-time technology. The important practical impact of this issue was recently discussed (8,13).…”

Comparative Evaluation of the ExaVir Load Version 3 Reverse Transcriptase Assay for Measurement of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Plasma Load

“…These findings indicate that the ExaVir assay can reliably identify significant viremia in treated patients. The significance of low-level viremia continues to be debated in high-income countries (16,18). Interpretation and management likely will be even more challenging in developing countries, where drug options are limited.…”