Overview
HIV Genotype antiretroviral resistance testing is used to help select a drug regimen that will likely be effective in treating a person with an HIV infection. The test is used to determine whether the HIV strain infecting an individual is resistant or has developed resistance to one or more drugs used to treat HIV. Testing analyzes the genes of the virus to detect the presence of one or more mutations that are associated with antiretroviral drug (ART) resistance.Treatment failure is identified when a person's viral load does not decrease or begins to increase despite treatment. In this case, the person's treatment will likely be changed.
Rationale for HIV-1 Drug Resistance Testing
Nineteen antiretroviral drugs have been approved for the treatment of HIV-1 infection: one nucleotide and seven nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), seven protease inhibitors (PIs), three nonnucleoside RT inhibitors (NNRTIs), and one fusion inhibitor. In previously untreated individuals with drug-susceptible HIV-1 strains, combinations of three or more drugs from two drug classes can lead to prolonged virus suppression and immunologic reconstitution.Even where effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) is available, drug resistance remains a crucial issue. First, tens of thousands of individuals who began therapy in the early and mid-1990s already harbor multidrug-resistant viruses. Second, a significant proportion of new HIV infections result from the transmission of strains that are already resistant to one or more antiretroviral drugs. Third, as the epidemic continues to grow worldwide, increasing numbers of individuals are being treated. The margin of success for achieving and maintaining virus suppression is narrow. Extraordinary patient effort is required to adhere to drug regimens that are expensive, inconvenient, and often associated with dose-limiting side effects. Incomplete virus suppression due to these factors predisposes to the development of drug resistance, which threatens the success of future treatment regimens.
HIV-1 Genotype Test.
The HIV-1 Genotype test is intended for use in conjunction with clinical presentation and other laboratory markers of disease progress for the clinical management of HIV-1 infected patients. The test identifies drug resistance-associated mutations in the HIV-1 protease and reverse transcriptase genes. It can be used to predict antiretroviral drug resistance before initiation of therapy and in patients experiencing virologic failure while on therapy.The test results identify the viral mutations detected. These are described by a combination of letters and numbers where the letters refer to the amino acid associated with the gene and the number refers to the position of the mutation in the genome.The laboratory report may also provide an interpretation and a list of the drugs to which the virus is either resistant or susceptible. This information helps a healthcare practitioner select a treatment regimen that is likely to be effective in suppressing the patient's HIV.Looking for a cheap std test near me?. Tuhealthy App helps you to find "cheapest std testing near me".