<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?><article xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id>0535-5133</journal-id>
<journal-title><![CDATA[Investigación Clínica]]></journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title><![CDATA[Invest. clín]]></abbrev-journal-title>
<issn>0535-5133</issn>
<publisher>
<publisher-name><![CDATA[Instituto de Investigaciones Clínicas "Dr. Américo Negrette", Facultad de Medicina, Universidad del Zulia]]></publisher-name>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id>S0535-51332025000200166</article-id>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.54817/ic.v66n2a04</article-id>
<title-group>
<article-title xml:lang="en"><![CDATA[Optimization of a real-time PCR assay for hepatitis B virus load determination in infected patients.]]></article-title>
<article-title xml:lang="es"><![CDATA[Optimización de un ensayo de PCR en tiempo real para la determinación de carga viral del virus de hepatitis B en pacientes infectados.]]></article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name>
<surname><![CDATA[Sulbarán]]></surname>
<given-names><![CDATA[María Zulay]]></given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="Aff"/>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name>
<surname><![CDATA[Sulbarán]]></surname>
<given-names><![CDATA[Yoneira Fabiola]]></given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="Aff"/>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name>
<surname><![CDATA[Loureiro]]></surname>
<given-names><![CDATA[Carmen Luisa]]></given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="Aff"/>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name>
<surname><![CDATA[Rangel]]></surname>
<given-names><![CDATA[Héctor Rafael]]></given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="Aff"/>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name>
<surname><![CDATA[Jaspe]]></surname>
<given-names><![CDATA[Rossana Celeste]]></given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="Aff"/>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author">
<name>
<surname><![CDATA[Pujol]]></surname>
<given-names><![CDATA[Flor Helene]]></given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="Aff"/>
</contrib>
</contrib-group>
<aff id="Af1">
<institution><![CDATA[,Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC) CMBC Laboratorio de Virología Molecular]]></institution>
<addr-line><![CDATA[Caracas ]]></addr-line>
<country>Venezuela</country>
</aff>
<pub-date pub-type="pub">
<day>00</day>
<month>06</month>
<year>2025</year>
</pub-date>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>00</day>
<month>06</month>
<year>2025</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>66</volume>
<numero>2</numero>
<fpage>166</fpage>
<lpage>174</lpage>
<copyright-statement/>
<copyright-year/>
<self-uri xlink:href="http://ve.scielo.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&amp;pid=S0535-51332025000200166&amp;lng=en&amp;nrm=iso"></self-uri><self-uri xlink:href="http://ve.scielo.org/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&amp;pid=S0535-51332025000200166&amp;lng=en&amp;nrm=iso"></self-uri><self-uri xlink:href="http://ve.scielo.org/scielo.php?script=sci_pdf&amp;pid=S0535-51332025000200166&amp;lng=en&amp;nrm=iso"></self-uri><abstract abstract-type="short" xml:lang="en"><p><![CDATA[Abstract Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a significant health problem in the world, with around 294 million chronic carriers. Determination of viral load is crucial for the monitoring and treatment follow-up of HBV-infected patients. In-house methods are economical alternatives for those settings where HBV viral load determination might not be widely available commercially. Molecular diagnostic techniques need to take into account the variability of this virus. The aim of this study was the evaluation and optimization of a real-time PCR method for the determination of HBV load. After optimization, the in-house assay evaluated in this study showed acceptable sensitivity and specificity, allowing its use for monitoring patients in low-income settings.]]></p></abstract>
<abstract abstract-type="short" xml:lang="es"><p><![CDATA[Resumen La infección por el virus de la hepatitis B (VHB) es un gran problema de salud en el mundo, con alrededor de 294 millones de portadores crónicos. La determinación de la carga viral es de importancia crucial para el monitoreo y el seguimiento del tratamiento de los pacientes infectados por el VHB. Los métodos propios son alternativas económicas para aquellos países donde la determinación de la carga viral del VHB podría no estar ampliamente disponible comercialmente. Las técnicas de diagnóstico molecular deben tener en cuenta la variabilidad de este virus. El objetivo de este estudio fue la evaluación y optimización de un método de PCR en tiempo real para la determinación de la carga del VHB. La prueba propia analizada en este estudio mostró, después de la optimización, una sensibilidad y especificidad satisfactorias, lo que permitió su uso para el seguimiento de pacientes en comunidades de bajos ingresos.]]></p></abstract>
<kwd-group>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[hepatitis B virus]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[viral load]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[optimization]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[qPCR]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="en"><![CDATA[genotype]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="es"><![CDATA[virus de hepatitis B]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="es"><![CDATA[carga viral]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="es"><![CDATA[qPCR]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="es"><![CDATA[optimización]]></kwd>
<kwd lng="es"><![CDATA[genotipo]]></kwd>
</kwd-group>
</article-meta>
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<year>2021</year>
<volume>12</volume>
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