Drug Resistance Testing Kits Information

Drug resistance testing kits are tools used to assess the resistance of viruses like HIV to specific antiretroviral medications.
Category
Medical Device
Where to get
Available in specialized laboratories and healthcare facilities.
Applicable for
Prepared by Shruti Sahoo, reviewed by Dr. Eugene Smith

Drug Resistance Testing Kits FAQ


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What is HIV drug resistance testing?

Drug resistance testing is used to determine whether a patient with HIV has a mutated form of the virus that does not respond to antiretroviral therapy (ART). If an HIV-infected patient becomes resistant to a drug and continues to take the same medication, HIV is able to multiply faster because the drug cannot stop it from replicating.

What is drug-resistance testing?

Drug-resistance testing can help determine the role of resistance in virologic failure and maximize the clinician’s ability to select active drugs for the new regimen. Resistance testing for HIV-RNA levels 201–500 copies/mL may need to be conducted within a research setting.

Why is drug resistance testing important?

Instead, drug resistance testing has become an essential tool to assist clinicians in the selection of potent antiretroviral drug regimens that will enhance the likehood of favourable treatment responses.

Is drug resistance testing cost-effective?

Resistance testing to guide the choice of initial therapy would be cost-effective when the prevalence of drug resistance in chronically infected patients is at least 4–5% [ 23 ]. Resistance testing is recommended for all patients experiencing treatment failure.

Should drug resistance testing be performed after art (AII) initiation?

Drug-resistance testing is recommended in patients with suboptimal viral load suppression after initiation of ART (AII). Testing can determine the role of resistance in suboptimal viral suppression, and it can help the clinician identify the number of active drugs available in the current ARV regimen and assess the need for a new regimen.

Should drug resistance tests be reviewed when designing a new ARV regimen?

All prior and current drug-resistance testing results should be reviewed and considered when designing a new ARV regimen for a patient experiencing virologic failure (AIII). Drug-resistance mutations may decay with time, and mutations detected in prior resistance tests may not be detected in current tests, though they remain clinically relevant.

Drug Resistance Testing Kits References

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