RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Swathirajan, Chinnambedu Ravichandran A1 Vignesh, Ramachandran A1 Boobalan, Jayaseelan A1 Solomon, Sunil Suhas A1 Saravanan, Shanmugam A1 Balakrishnan, PachamuthuYR 2017 T1 Performance of point-of-care Xpert HIV-1 plasma viral load assay at a tertiary HIV care centre in Southern India JF Journal of Medical Microbiology, VO 66 IS 10 SP 1379 OP 1382 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.000514 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1473-5644, AB Background. Sustainable suppression of HIV replication forms the basis of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) medication. Thus, reliable quantification of HIV viral load has become an essential factor to monitor the effectiveness of the ART. Longer turnaround-time (TAT), batch testing and technical skills are major drawbacks of standard real-time PCR assays. Methods. The performance of the point-of-care Xpert HIV-1 viral load assay was evaluated against the Abbott RealTime PCR m2000rt system. A total of 96 plasma specimens ranging from 2.5 log10 copies ml−1 to 4.99 log10 copies ml−1 and proficiency testing panel specimens were used. Precision and accuracy were checked using the Pearson correlation co-efficient test and Bland–Altman analysis. Results. Compared to the Abbott RealTime PCR, the Xpert HIV-1 viral load assay showed a good correlation (Pearson r=0.81; P<0.0001) with a mean difference of 0.27 log10 copies ml−1 (95 % CI, −0.41 to 0.96 log10 copies ml−1; sd, 0.35 log10 copies ml−1). Conclusion. Reliable and ease of testing individual specimens could make the Xpert HIV-1 viral load assay an efficient alternative method for ART monitoring in clinical management of HIV disease in resource-limited settings. The rapid test results (less than 2 h) could help in making an immediate clinical decision, which further strengthens patient care., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.000514