Assessment of two quantitative techniques for hepatitis C viraemia

ABSTRACT

In Egypt, chronic hepatitis due to Hepatitis C Virus is an important public health problem. 40 patients with chronic hepatitis C were randomly selected. The aim of this study was the quantitative measurement of serum hepatitis C virus [HCV] RNA. We compared two commercial available assays, Roche Amplicor HCV Monitor kits and Chiron branched DNA signal amplification [bDNA] assay, in quantitative measurement of serum HCV RNA virus. In this study [84.4%] of the samples positive by Roche Amplicor were positive by bDNA assay. Our results were consistent with previous reports. Amplicor test kit was more sensitive than bDNA assay but the difference was not statistically significant. The statistical correlation between the two quantitative techniques was highly significant using Chi-square and Spearman's correlation. The two assays were highly correlated and the relationship between the log values obtained by both assays generated the following equation log10 bDNA = 0.47x log10 Roche [PCR] + 3.86. In conclusion, Roche Amplicor HCV Monitor kits and the Chiron branched DNA signal amplification assay are equally sensitive in the quantitative measurement of serum HCV RNA in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Both assays are suitable for assessing patients with chronic hepatitis C before therapy and for evaluating treatment regimens. This new approach of serum HCV RNA quantification will lead to a better standardization and comparison of controlled trials of chronic hepatitis C treatments