Comparative evaluation of the Aptima HIV-1 Quant Dx assay and COBAS TaqMan HIV-1 v2.0 assay using the Roche High Pure System for the quantification of HIV-1 RNA in plasma

Background: Quantification of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA in plasma has become the standard of care in the management of HIV-infected patients. There are several commercially available assays that have been implemented for the detection of HIV-1 RNA in plasma. Here, the new Hologic Aptima (R) HIV-1 Quant Dx assay (Aptima HIV) was compared to the Roche COBAS (R) TaqMan (R) HIV-1 Test v2.0 for use with the High Pure System (HPS/CTM). Methods: The performance characteristics of the assays were assessed using commercially available HIV reference panels, dilution of the WHO 3rd International HIV-1 RNA International Standard (WHO-IS) and plasma from clinical specimens. Assay performance was determined by linear regression, Deming correlation analysis and Bland-Altman analysis. Results: Testing of HIV-1 reference panels revealed excellent agreement. The 61 clinical specimens quantified in both assays were linearly associated and strongly correlated. Conclusions: The Aptima HIV assay offers performance comparable to that of the HPS/CTM assay and, as it is run on a fully automated platform, a significantly improved workflow.