Performance characteristics of MAAs that include the LAg-Avidity assay and HIV viral load, with and without CD4 cell count.

Samples from the MACS, ALIVE, and HIVNET 001 cohorts (N = 1,780) were tested using MAAs that included the LAg-Avidity assay and HIV viral load, with and without CD4 cell count. The cutoffs used for the LAg-Avidity assay (1.0 or 1.5 normalized optical density units [OD-n]) and the cutoff used for CD4 cell count (200 cells/mm3) are recommended by the assay manufacturer. The cutoff used for HIV viral load (VL, 1,000 copies/mL) was previously suggested for use with the Lag-Avidity assay along with self-report of antiretroviral treatment [35]. Samples were classified as MAA positive if they met the criteria of each component assay. In the table, CD4 cell count testing is listed first in the MAA, since that testing must be performed at the time of sample collection. The number and percentage of samples that were MAA positive are presented separately for individuals with different durations of HIV infection (see Methods). N indicates the number of samples in each group. The mean window period and shadow for each MAA are shown.