Comparison between Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction and Nucleic Acid Testing (Transcription-mediated Amplification) for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Hepatitis B Virus, and Hepatitis C Virus

Abstract Introduction: The nucleic acid testing (NAT) is a broad technique used to detect and analyze nucleic acids which reduce the window period of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) monitors the modification of a targeted DNA template during the PCR process in real time. Background and Objective: In this examination, the variation in infectious markers by taking two methods: NAT and real-time PCR. Identifies the most prominent infectious marker among 100 patient samples. Materials and Methods: One hundred patients’ samples were collected in Apollo Hospital from all age groups of males and females for the testing of HIV, HCV, and HBV by real-time PCR and NAT. Results: The NAT shows a high positive rate of infectious markers as compared to real-time PCR. In 100 patients’ blood samples, the positive result is for HBV is 21, for HCV is 13, and for HIV is 6. The rate of prominent infections is 48% for HBV, 39% for HCV, and 25% for HIV. The study shows advancement of NAT as compared to real-time PCR because the NAT results show high positive outcomes as compared to the real-time PCR for HIV, HCV, and HBV tests. The analysis also shows HBV > HCV > HIV, meaning HBV is more frequently positive than HCV, and HCV is more frequently positive than HIV. From the gender distribution data for positive cases in both NAT and qPCR, there is 1 male positive for approximately 0.29 females. Based on the data observation, the net yield for 1 person was also recorded out of 100 samples. Conclusion: The data analysis indicates that NAT offers greater sensitivity and faster detection of infections than real-time PCR, particularly for HBV and HIV. It also reveals that HBV is the most commonly detected infection in the study group. Furthermore, the results show a higher positivity rate among males compared to females.