Cost analysis of centralized viral load testing for antiretroviral therapy monitoring in Nicaragua, a low-HIV prevalence, low-resource setting

Table 4 CNDR laboratory costs for running viral load tests (US dollars)

	Batch of 10 specimens	Batch of 22 specimens
Reagents (Amplicor test kit)	87.50	79.55
Disposables
Specimen aliquoting	0.19	0.17
RNA extraction	1.39	1.22
PCR reaction preparation	1.27	1.16
Total disposables	2.85	2.54
Labour
Specimen receipt and processing	0.06	0.04
RNA extraction	0.23	0.19
PCR reaction preparation	0.12	0.06
Results processing	0.11	0.07
Administration	0.47	0.47
Data entry	0.20	0.20
Total labour	1.03	1.19
Facilities and equipment	5.62	5.62
Total cost per specimen	97.15	88.73