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Evaluation of the use of dried spots and of different storage conditions of plasma for HIV‐1 RNA quantification
Author(s) -
Amellal B,
Katlama C,
Calvez V
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
hiv medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.53
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1468-1293
pISSN - 1464-2662
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-1293.2007.00484.x
Subject(s) - medicine , spots , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , dried blood , plasma , chromatography , virology , pathology , chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics
Objectives The aim of the study was to evaluate the use of dried plasma spots to determine HIV‐1 RNA viral loads. Methods The viral loads of 30 liquid plasma samples were compared with those of corresponding dried plasma spots on filter paper (DPS‐FP) and in tubes (DPS‐T), both of which were left for 7 days at 22°C. Also, 10 liquid plasma samples with detectable viral load were stored at 4, 22 or 37°C for 7 days and five further liquid plasma samples were air‐dried for up to 54 h to assess the effects of temperature and the drying step on HIV‐1 viral load. Results The viral loads of the 30 liquid plasma samples correlated significantly with those of the paired dried spots DPS‐FP and DPS‐T, but with median losses of 0.64 and 0.69 log 10 HIV‐1 RNA copies/mL, respectively, and a limit of detection of 3 log 10 copies/mL. The 10 liquid plasma samples stored for 1 week at 37°C showed a weaker correlation and had a significantly reduced median viral load (–0.92 log 10 ; P =0.005) when compared with the viral load of the matched plasma stored at −80°C. Most of the loss happened during the drying step. Conclusions Reliable measurement of HIV‐1 RNA viral load requires good plasma storage conditions. HIV RNA stability was affected by desiccation and 1 week of storage at 37°C. However, our findings suggest that liquid plasma can be kept at 4 or 22°C for a week with no effect on viral load.