Search results
Since 2013, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all specimens that are HCV antibody reactive should be tested using a NAT to detect HCV RNA in order to confirm current HCV infection.
The mainstay in diagnosing infection with HCV is to initially screen high risk groups for antibodies to HCV (anti-HCV). The inclusion of serum to cut-off ratio (S/CO) in recent guidelines is helpful in deciding the supplemental assay to be used to confirm initially reactive screening results.
This guideline on testing for and diagnosis of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was developed by the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute (NYSDOH AI) to guide primary care providers and other practitioners in New York State in identifying individuals with chronic HCV infection for treatment.
Quantitative HCV RNA: The quantitative HCV RNA tests detect and quantify the number of HCV copies in the patient's blood sample, reported as IU/mL. Clinically, these tests are used for diagnosing HCV and monitoring response to therapy.
15 sie 2019 · The quantitative HCV RNA test is checked before a patient starts treatment. For each patient, the result can be described as either a "high" viral load, which is usually >800,000 IU/L, or a "low" viral load, which is usually <800,000 IU/L. It's not uncommon to have a viral load in the millions.
2 sty 2024 · In the United States, the gold standard for the laboratory diagnosis of acute HCV is an HCV antibody seroconversion (documented negative HCV antibody test followed by a positive antibody test), combined with a positive HCV RNA test and elevated ALT.
Therefore, the range of clinically observed HCV RNA concentrations in serum is rarely below the lower range of the limit of quantification of quantitative assays, and most NAT assays (quantitative or qualitative) will capture the majority of viraemic infections as well as treatment failures.
