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| UWHC Lab Test Details | |
|---|---|
| Test Name | HIV-1 RNA, Quantitative (Viral Load) |
| Test Code(s) | XHIV1 |
| CPT Code(s) | 87536 |
| Methodology | Aptima |
| Clinical Information | This test is not used for the diagnosis for HIV-1 infection. This test is used to determine viral burden in known HIV-1 positive patients.
Please contact clinical labs (608-263-7060) prior to adding on to make sure there is a usable specimen available. |
| Days Performed | Twice a week-days vary. |
| In-Lab Turnaround Time | 5 days. |
| Stat In-Lab Turnaround Time | Not available stat. |
| Collection Requirements | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specimen | Blood | ||||
| Collection Container |
| ||||
| Collection Volume | 6 mL | ||||
| Pediatric Collection Volume | 2 mL | ||||
| Specimen Processing Requirements | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stability |
| ||||||||||
| Sample Analyzed | Plasma | ||||||||||
| Testing Volume | 3 mL | ||||||||||
| Pediatric Testing Volume | 1.2 mL | ||||||||||
| Specimen Processing | Separate cell-free plasma from whole blood and transfer to a sterile polypropylene tube or inpeco tube within 24 hours of collection. EDTA plasma may be stored at either 2°C to 8°C for up to five days or frozen at -20°C for up to 60 days. | ||||||||||
| Outreach Specimen Processing | Transport frozen plasma on dry ice to Laboratory. | ||||||||||
| Specimen Transport | Transport specimen to Laboratory immediately. | ||||||||||
| Interpretation | |
|---|---|
| Interpretive Guidelines | If HIV-1 is detected, two results are reported for each assay: a measured log copies/mL and a calculated copies/mL result.
Analytical measurement range of this assay is 30 - 10,000,000 copies/mL (1.47-7.00 log copies/mL). In patients where HIV-1 is detected but outside of the analytical measurement range (AMR), a result of <30 copies/mL or >10,000,000 copies/mL will be reported. If no HIV-1 is detected, a result of "Not detected" will be reported.
|
| Test Limitations | This assay is not a screening, confirmatory or test procedure for the diagnosis of HIV-1 infection.
Though rare, mutations within the highly conserved regions of the viral genome covered by primers and/or probes in the Aptima HIV-1 quant assay may result in underquantification of or failure to detect the virus. |
| Additional Information | Specimens are assayed using the Aptima HIV-1 Quant assay. This is a quantitative test for the HIV-1 RNA virus groups M, N and O.
This test is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. |
