Can hepatitis C virus antigen testing replace
ribonucleic acid polymearse chain reaction analysis for
detecting hepatitis C virus? A systematic review
ribonucleic acid polymearse chain reaction analysis for
detecting hepatitis C virus? A systematic review
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Khan, H
Hill, A
Main, J
Brown, A
Cooke, GS
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The complexity and cost of current diagnostics for hepatitis C virus (HCV) may act as a prevention to the scale-up of treatment in
the developing world. Currently, ribonucleic acid (RNA)-polymerase chain reaction tests are the gold standard. However, there is
potential for the use of simpler and cheaper antigen tests to confirm HCV infection in different clinical settings. We evaluated the
sensitivity and specificity of antigen assays. This was compared with the reference-standard RNA assays. A subanalysis also assessed
Architect core antigen test, which is the only commercially available antigen test on the market. In 24 datasets, evaluating HCV-
antigen assays in 8136 samples, the percentage of HCV-antigen positive, HCV-RNA negative was 0.57%. The percentage HCV-
antigen negative, HCV-RNA positive was 3.52%. There is strong evidence that antigen detection performs as well as RNA-based
assays for HCV management. The use of antigen tests could improve access to HCV care in underresourced healthcare settings.
the developing world. Currently, ribonucleic acid (RNA)-polymerase chain reaction tests are the gold standard. However, there is
potential for the use of simpler and cheaper antigen tests to confirm HCV infection in different clinical settings. We evaluated the
sensitivity and specificity of antigen assays. This was compared with the reference-standard RNA assays. A subanalysis also assessed
Architect core antigen test, which is the only commercially available antigen test on the market. In 24 datasets, evaluating HCV-
antigen assays in 8136 samples, the percentage of HCV-antigen positive, HCV-RNA negative was 0.57%. The percentage HCV-
antigen negative, HCV-RNA positive was 3.52%. There is strong evidence that antigen detection performs as well as RNA-based
assays for HCV management. The use of antigen tests could improve access to HCV care in underresourced healthcare settings.
Date Issued
2017-05-26
Date Acceptance
2017-02-02
Citation
Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 2017, 4 (2)
ISSN
2328-8957
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Journal / Book Title
Open Forum Infectious Diseases
Volume
4
Issue
2
Replaces
Copyright Statement
© The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society
of America. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted
reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
of America. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted
reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
Sponsor
National Institute for Health Research
Medical Research Council (MRC)
National Institute for Health Research
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)
Grant Number
RDOTH 79560
MR/K01532X/1
EME 14/02/17
WMND_P62102
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ofw252