Use of Plastic Vacutainer Tubes for Quantification of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 in Blood Specimens

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 viral load results were compared for paired samples collected in plastic and glass Vacutainer tubes, using both standard (n = 60) and ultrasensitive (n = 66) assays. The results showed a strong correlation (P < 0.0001), and plastic tubes can be substituted for glass tubes.