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International Journal of HIV and AIDS research
Page 13
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Notes:
International Conference on
September 21-22, 2017 San Antonio, TX, USA
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Sexually Transmitted Diseases, AIDS and Parasitic Infections
Parasitology, Infectious Diseases, STDs and STIs
CD4 counts in capillary and venous blood samples
The CD4 cell count is a significant indicator of immune function and remains an important tool to monitor
disease progression and predict overall survival in HIV-infected individuals. The gold-standard technology
for determining a CD4 cell count is flow cytometry using whole blood collected by venipuncture. Technological
advances now allow for the accurate measurement of CD4 cell counts in near-patient platforms, using small sample
volumes such as capillary blood from fingerstick samples. To determine whether capillary samples are suitable
alternatives to venipuncture samples for CD4 cell count assays, results from paired venous and capillary samples
need to be carefully compared. Literature reports were examined in the context of the physiological differences in
sample types, as well as the potential clinical impact of the sampling methods and testing technologies. A trend of
approximately 5% positive bias was revealed in CD4 counts from capillary samples compared to venous samples
when using the same cell counting technology in adult HIV patients. In practice, this small difference in CD4
cell count is insignificant in most circumstances, and CD4 cell counts obtained from capillary blood samples are
equivalent to results from venous blood samples if the proper sampling method is followed. Clinicians can now
focus on factors related to patient health rather than sample type and testing platform as they use the CD4 cell
count to make patient management decisions.
Biography
Wei Huang has completed his PhD in Chemistry from University of Kentucky and Post-doctoral studies from University of California, Davis. He is currently
a staff Research Scientist at BD Biosciences at San Jose, California. He has spent many years in the drug discovery industry and worked on antiretroviral drug
development at Gilead Sciences, one of the leading pharmaceutical companies for HIV drugs. At BD Biosciences, he has worked on the development of the
FACSPresto™ near-patient CD4 counter, which received CE-IVD and 510(k) clearances.
Wei Huang
BD Biosciences, USA