Estimating Volume of Cervicovaginal Secretions in Cervicovaginal Lavage Fluid Collected for Measurement of Genital HIV-1 RNA Levels in Women

To assess the volume of genital fluid collected for measuring the HIV-1 RNA level in cervicovaginal fluid, phosphate-buffered saline containing 10 mM LiCl was used. Thirty-eight women provided 275 cervicovaginal specimens. The estimated median volume of cervicovaginal fluid was 0.51 ml (interquartile range, 0.33, 0.69).