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Sensitivity
Continued advances in HIV-1 drug therapies require accurate measurement and detection of low level viral replication. With a quantitation limit of 50 copies/mL 1, the COBAS AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR Test provides the required level of sensitivity reflected in current consensus guidelines that now mandate routine use of assays with quantitation limits down to 50 copies/mL2,3,4.
Importantly, the AMPLICOR test is able to consistently detect viral loads as low as 50 copies/mL 95% of the time. In contrast, alternate technologies such as bDNA exhibit detection rates at 50 copies/mL as low as 17%5. (see Figure 1)
Figure 1. Lower Limit of Detection of UltraSensitive Assays
Consistent and reliable quantitation at 50 copies/mL by the AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR test enables to accurately assess viral suppression and more quickly identify potential viral rebound. With this information, physicians can provide better patient care management by initiating proper therapeutic regimens that will deliver more effective viral suppressions.
References
- RMS: COBAS AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR Test, v 1.5 Method Manual.
- Carpenter CJ. et al., Antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection in 1998 JAMA (1998) 2870:78-86.
- Gulick R. HIV Treatment Strategies JAMA (1998) 279:957-958
- Rabound JM. et al. Suppression of plasma viral load below 20 copies/ml is required to achieve a long-term response to therapy. AIDS (1998) 12:1619-1624.
- Perez JL. et al. Evaluation of Quantiplex 3.0 HIV bDNA Assay. 6th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, (1999).
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