New Test for Hepatitis C More Accurate

A study has shown that a new test for hepatitis C (HCV) based on new molecular diagnostics found that more than one-third of patients who had previously tested negative with a conventional PCR test were actually positive. The study was presented at the 51st meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease.

The study involved 47 patient samples that had previously tested negative for HCV with existing PCR-based assays. When retested with a new transcription-mediated amplification (TMA) test called Versant HCV Qualitative RNA Assay, the results showed that 36% of the patient samples were positive. After being tested with the PCR test, all of these patients had relapsed after treatment was stopped. These results suggest that perhaps patients with chronic hepatitis C should be kept on therapy longer to avoid relapse, say the researchers. The study was presented by Dr. Stefan Zeuzem of the Sentrum der Inneren Medizin (Frankfurt, Germany).
The Versant HCV RNA Qualitative Assay is the product of Bayer Diagnostics (Tarrytown, NY, USA). The test is currently under investigation in Germany and other parts of Europe. Bayer has recently released a new version of its quantitative HCV RNA 3.0 Assay (bDNA), available for research purposes only, designed to quantitate HCV RNA over a broad range of values.



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