 | ||
 | ||
 | ||
Email
Glossary |
|
Resistance testing Apr 17, 2000 If you have two blood work tests done (HIV RNA by PCR Quant & Total CD4 count) would the results of those two tests indicate if there is any resistance related to the virus you're carrying? Or does resistance testing need to be done separately? Is it expensive? Does it take long? |
|
 |
|||
|
|||
 |
|
Response from Dr. Holodniy
 The HIV RNA PCR test only measures how much virus is present in the blood. It does not tell us anything about the characteristics of the virus (ie resistance). That requires a special test. There are two kinds, genotypic testing, analyzes the sequence of the RNA looking for specific mutations that are known for drug resistance. Phenotypic testing measures the viruses ability to grow or not grow in the presence of HIV drugs. The former costs about $300-500 and takes about 1-2 weeks and the latter about $800-1,000 and takes about 2-4 weeks. MH |
|
| |
Q&A TERMS OF USE
This forum is designed for educational purposes only, and experts are not rendering legal or medical advice or professional services. Experts appearing on this page are independent and are solely responsible for editing and fact-checking their material. Neither TheBody.com nor any sponsor is the publisher or speaker of posted visitors' questions or the experts' material.
Review our complete terms of use and copyright notice.
