Georgia Esoteric and Molecular Lab, LLC

Test Ordering Code: 1081

CPT Codes: 87901

Turnaround Time:

7 - 10 business days

Specimen:

Plasma samples collected in EDTA anticoagulant tube(lavender top, vacutainer PPT). Remove EDTA plasma from cells within 30 minutes and PPT samples within 2 hours of collection and store it in at least -20 ° C freezer, preferably in -70 ° C. Samples will be picked up by GEM Labs as scheduled.

Clinical Significance:

At the beginning of the diagnosis of HIV-1 infection, this test can establish a specific patient viral strain profile to assess any drug resistant HIV-1 strains. Throughout the whole therapy with anti-retroviral drugs, this test is used to monitor the emergence of drug resistant variants, and guide the treatment by replacing non-responding drugs with sensitive ones.

Indications for Testing:

Drug therapy failure (with increased viral load)

Before initial drug therapy

Methodology:

Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), DNA sequencing with FDA approved in vitro diagnostic reagents, and software from Abbott. The sequence of the entire protease gene and two-thirds of the reverse transciptase gene ofthe patient sample is compared to a known reference strain, HXB-2, to identify mutations. The relative impacts of these mutations are interpreted as probabilities of resistance to commonly prescribed antiretroviral drugs based on a proprietary algorithm.

Reference Interval:

Negative: The patient does not have any known drug resistant mutaions

Positive: List of drugs and drug resistant mutaions

References: