Hepatitis C virus core antigen testing in liver and kidney transplant recipients
Summary HCV RNA levels correlate with the long‐term outcome of hepatitis C in liver transplant recipients. Nucleic acid testing (NAT) is usually used to confirm HCV reinfection and to examine viral loads after liver transplantation. HCV core antigen (HCVcoreAg) testing could be an alternative to NAT...
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Published in | Journal of viral hepatitis Vol. 21; no. 11; pp. 769 - 779 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
England
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
01.11.2014
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Summary
HCV RNA levels correlate with the long‐term outcome of hepatitis C in liver transplant recipients. Nucleic acid testing (NAT) is usually used to confirm HCV reinfection and to examine viral loads after liver transplantation. HCV core antigen (HCVcoreAg) testing could be an alternative to NAT with some potential advantages including very low intra‐ and interassay variabilities and lower costs. The performance of HCVcoreAg testing in organ transplant recipients is unknown. We prospectively studied 1011 sera for HCV RNA and HCVcoreAg in a routine real‐world setting including 222 samples obtained from patients after liver or kidney transplantation. HCV RNA and HCVcoreAg test results showed a consistency of 98% with a very good correlation in transplanted patients (r > 0.85). The correlation between HCV RNA and HCVcoreAg was higher in sera with high viral loads and in samples from patients with low biochemical disease. Patients treated with tacrolimus showed a better correlation between both parameters than individuals receiving cyclosporine A. HCV RNA/HCVcoreAg ratios did not differ between transplanted and nontransplanted patients, and HCV RNA and HCVcoreAg kinetics were almost identical during the first days after liver transplantation. HCVcoreAg testing can be used to monitor HCV viral loads in patients after organ transplantation. However, the assay is not recommended to monitor antiviral therapies. |
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Bibliography: | ArticleID:JVH12204 Hannover Medical School ark:/67375/WNG-1WW1BDZM-P Figure S1: Differentgroups of patients regarding transplantation status.Figure S2: Correlation between HCV RNA and HCVcoreAg genotypes 1-3 in all samples and in liver transplant recipients.Figure S3: HCV RNA levels and HCV RNA/HCVcoreAg in transplanted patients.Table S1: Immunosuppressive medication in transplant recipients. istex:A75640C91AF62D659E89DA05683FBBFC7FA3A5FC Integrated Research and Treatment Center Transplantation ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1352-0504 1365-2893 |
DOI: | 10.1111/jvh.12204 |