COMPARISON OF HCV RNA AND HCV CORE ANTIGEN IN GENOTYPE 1 CHRONIC HEPATITIS C PATIENTS

Background: Anti-HCV test is currently used in the diagnosis of hepatitis C, while hepatitis C virus ribonucleic acid (HCV RNA) is used in the determination of viral load. Recently developed hepatitis C virus core antigen (HCV Ag) test is also used in the diagnosis of hepatitis C. The aim of this study was to compare HCV Ag and quantitative HCV RNA in terms of sensitivity and specificity as well as pharmacoeconomic footprint. Patients and methods: Sixty patients with positive anti-HCV were enrolled to this study. Quantitative HCV RNA was studied by ready commercial kits (Qiagen, lower limit of <12 IU/ml). HCV Ag test was studied with microparticule chemiluminiscent immunoassay method using ready commercial kits (Architect HCV Ag, Abbott). Conclusions: HCV Ag and HCV RNA levels were measured in the sera of chronic hepatitis C patients. Quite high correlation was found between the two tests (r = 0.83). According to our results, HCV Ag test may be an alternative to quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. Thus, use of HCV Ag in place of HCV RNA will be more cost-effective for countries with limited sources.