Case 3: Discussion HIV RNA Assays Patients initiating
antiretroviral therapy or starting a new regimen should undergo
close virologic monitoring to evaluate the response to therapy.
In the United States, multiple nucleic acid-based tests are
available for the measurement of HIV-1 RNA levels. The HIV RNA
assays are typically categorized into one of the following
methods: polymerase chain reaction (PCR), reverse transcription
polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), or nucleic acid sequence
based amplication (NASBA). The HIV RNA assays used for
monitoring response to therapy typically have a HIV RNA
detection threshold of 20 to 75 copies/ml. "Real time" assays
have provided several advantages in HIV monitoring, including
more rapid turnaround for results and an Given that significant
interassay variability can occur, the same assay should ideally
be used when following virologic trends and responses to
antiretroviral therapy in an individual patient. HIV RNA
Monitoring The January 2011 United States DHHS antiretrovi