The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) guidelines
The DHHS guidelines recommend genotypic testing at baseline and at first and second treatment failures in patients with suboptimal response or virologic failure.1
The DHHS guidelines recommend genotypic testing at baseline and at first and second treatment failures in patients with suboptimal response or virologic failure.1
Genotypic testing provides a three tiered assessment of drug susceptibility:
Sensitive
Resistance possible
Resistant
All genotypic assays require a viral load of > 500 copies/mL with the exception of GenoSure Archive®, which was designed for use in patients with non-detectable viral loads or low level viremia.
If genotypic testing fails on the initial attempt to result, the laboratory will perform in-house viral load testing to confirm adequate viral material. If the viral load is < 500 copies/mL, the viral load will be reported and the client will be billed for viral load testing.
If a patient’s viral load varies around the 500 copies/mL viral load requirement, it is possible to order viral load reflex testing (550920) in which a viral load reflexes to either GenoSure PRIme® or GenoSure Archive®.
Viral load reflex testing is also available for GenoSure® MG and GenoSure PRIme®.