The feasibility of modified HIV and antiretroviral drug testing using self-collected dried blood spots from men who have sex with men
Open Access
- 5 May 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in BMC Infectious Diseases
- Vol. 21 (1), 1-7
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-021-06110-x
Abstract
Background: In the US, one in six men who have sex with men (MSM) with HIV are unaware of their HIV infection. In certain circumstances, access to HIV testing and viral load (VL) monitoring is challenging. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of conducting laboratory-based HIV and antiretroviral (ARV) drug testing, and VL monitoring as part of two studies on self-collected dried blood spots (DBS). Methods: Participants were instructed to collect DBS by self-fingerstick in studies that enrolled MSM online. DBS from the first study (N = 1444) were tested with HIV serological assays approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A subset was further tested with laboratory-modified serological and VL assays, and ARV levels were measured by mass spectrometry. DBS from the second study (N = 74) were only tested to assess VL monitoring. Results: In the first study, the mail back rate of self-collected DBS cards was 62.9%. Ninety percent of DBS cards were received at the laboratory within 2 weeks from the day of collection, and 98% of the cards had sufficient spots for one assay. Concordance between FDA-approved and laboratory-modified protocols was high. The samples with undetectable ARV had higher VL than samples with at least one ARV drug. In the second study, 70.3% participants returned self-collected DBS cards, and all had sufficient spots for VL assay. High VL was observed in samples from participants who reported low ARV adherence. Conclusions: In these studies, MSM were able to collect and provide adequate DBS for HIV testing. The FDA-approved and laboratory-modified testing algorithms performed similarly. DBS collected at home may be feasible for HIV testing, ARV measurement, and monitoring viral suppression.Funding Information
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (#200-2011-41989)
- National Institutes of Mental Health (R01MH110358)
- National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (P30AI050409)
This publication has 16 references indexed in Scilit:
- Evaluation of Rapid Testing Algorithms for Venue-based Anonymous HIV Testing among Non-HIV-Positive Men Who Have Sex with Men, National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS), 2017Journal of Community Health, 2020
- Assessment of HIV prevalence among MSM in Tokyo using self-collected dried blood spots delivered through the postal serviceBMC Infectious Diseases, 2018
- Quantification of HIV-1 RNA Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Using an At-Home Self-Collected Dried Blood Spot Specimen: Feasibility StudyJMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 2018
- National Trends in Sexual Behavior, Substance Use and HIV Testing Among United States Men Who have Sex with Men Recruited Online, 2013 Through 2017AIDS and Behavior, 2018
- HIV Testing Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in the Northeastern United StatesAIDS and Behavior, 2017
- Field Evaluation of Dried Blood Spots for HIV-1 Viral Load Monitoring in Adults and Children Receiving Antiretroviral Treatment in Kenya: Implications for Scale-up in Resource-Limited SettingsJAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 2017
- The Annual American Men's Internet Survey of Behaviors of Men Who Have Sex With Men in the United States: Protocol and Key Indicators Report 2013JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 2015
- Measures of viral load using Abbott RealTime HIV-1 Assay on venous and fingerstick dried blood spots from provider-collected specimens in Malawian District HospitalsJournal of Clinical Virology, 2014
- HIV Testing and Risk Behaviors Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men — United States2013
- Correlation between Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) RNA Measurements Obtained with Dried Blood Spots and Those Obtained with Plasma by Use of Nuclisens EasyQ HIV-1 and Abbott RealTime HIV Load TestsJournal of Clinical Microbiology, 2009