Analytical evaluation of hepatitis c virus core antigen detection as a diagnostic test in diagnosis of HCV infection

ABSTRACT

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of hepatitis C virus [HCV] core Ag assay by comparing it with anti-HCV antibodies and PCR-based technology for measuring viral load in diagnosis of HCV. HCV core Ag by ELISA in serum, in the presence or absence of anti-HCV antibodies was compared to HCV- RNA by PCR on total number of 100 subjects, divided into 3 groups; including 80 patients and 20 volunteers. The sensitivity of the test was [72.5%]] and the specificity was [86.6%]. Also positive predictive value of the test was [78.3%] and negative predictive value was [82.5%]. Core antigen detection by ELISA can be used as a reliable test for detection of vireamia in HCV infection