Clinical evaluation of patterned dried plasma spot cards to support quantification of HIV viral load and reflexive genotyping.

ABSTRACT: Quantifying viral load, a key indicator required to achieve control and elimination of the HIV epidemic, requires cell-free plasma or serum to ensure measurements are not biased by proviral DNA contained in infected CD4 T lymphocytes. Plasma separation cards (PSC) collect and preserve a dried specimen, which makes them practical solutions for decentralized sample collection and transport in limited-resource settings. However, physiological variations in hematocrit levels can introduce significant variability in the quality of plasma generated by commercial PSCs and can lead to inaccurate test results and clinical decisions. In addition to hematocrit-dependent sampling, the Roche PSC, a standard for dried plasma collection, is known to induce considerable hemolysis, which further impacts sp

SUBMITTER: Morbioli GG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11848285 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature