Comparison of third generation ELISA and conventional nested RT-PCR for detection of HCV among hemodialysis patients

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus is one of the main cause of chronic hepatitis in developing countries. The current study was done to evaluate the efficacy of the third generation ELISA compared to nested RT-PCR for establishing the diagnosis of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in patients on hemodialysis. This descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out on 237 Hemodialysis patients in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The retrospective demographic data of the subjects was collected and the patient's serum samples were analyzed by ELISA & RT-PCR for HCV. In the present study, of total 21 HCV positive either by ELISA or PCR 12 (57.14%) were positive for both RT-nested PCR and ELISA. Total four (19.05%) patients were positive for HCV by RT-nested PCR and negative by ELISA while five (23.81%) patients were negative for RT-nested PCR and positive for ELISA. PCR method is accredited as a specific and reliable method suitable for screening of HCV and is recommended for establishing exact and final diagnosis of these patients. However third generation ELISA assays have many advantages in the diagnostic setting including ease of automation, ease of use, relative cost-effectiveness, and low variability.

The Role of Oxidative Stress Markers in Î’-Thalassemic Iraqi Patients Infected With Hepatitis C Virus Diagnosed by Rt-PCR

“…The ages of the patients and control groups were distributed between 1 year to 44 years. The more significant majority of the infected persons with HCV was in the middle age groups (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29) years old, while the lowest rate of infected persons was in the age group (30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44) years of old. Gender did not differ significantly among thalassemia patients with or without HCV infection and healthy subjects (Table2).…”

“…At a global level, between 4.4 % and 85.4 % of the thalassemia patients are positive for anti-HCV antibodies 18 . The distribution of patients according to age were as follow: 73.0% were in the range of (15-29) years; 18.0% in the range (1-14) yearsand 9% inthe range (30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44) years. In our study, the mean age of thalassaemic patients with anti-HCV was20±7.0 years.…”

“…There are apparent differences in the distribution of thalassemia patients infected with hepatitis C according to the age groups. The highest percent of incidence in the age group (15-29 years) as it was estimated at 73% while the lowest percentage is in the age groups (30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44). This may be because early detection of the disease gives more significant opportunity for treatment and cure.…”

“…HCV infection clearance/persistence should be evaluated by RT-PCR, as the antibody persists for a longer duration after the virus is cleared 32 . It is suggested that the detection of HCV RNA by RT-PCR has better diagnostic value than the anti-HCV antibody test alone and HCV RNA detection in liver tissue is possible even when it is absent in the serum 33 .There were significant elevations in the liver enzyme in thalassemia patients with an HCV positive as compared with a healthy subject.…”