HIV viral load monitoring.

Abstract

Markers of HIV infection are used in the clinical setting to predict prognosis in HIV-infected persons, measure disease progression and monitor responses to therapy. In the past, the most commonly used tests were CD4 cell counts and serum p24 antigen levels, although serum beta-2 microglobulin, serum neopterin, serum IgA levels and CD8 cell numbers were used as adjunctive measures by some clinicians. Since the early to mid 1990s new technologies for the detection of HIV RNA in human plasma have allowed relatively accurate and precise measurement of plasma HIV RNA concentrations, which directly relate to the production of HIV-1 in tissues, particularly the lymphoid tissues. The available assays to quantify plasma HIV RNA, in combination with CD4 counts, enable clinicians to monitor responses to antiretroviral therapy and to predict the risk for disease progression.1,2,3,4