You are in Member Communities . This variability must be considered when adapting results from the published literature to local practice. Qualitative tests give a positive or negative result.
Quantitative tests give the viral concentration or viral load.
The most recent studies on therapy using interferon and ribavirin or PEGylated interferon use the National Genetics assay, which although commercially available requires the sample to be sent to the NGI lab. This becomes important when comparing viral load data between published studies and individual patients. Interpretation of the results of such testing is given in table 6. False negative HCV RNA Dormant infection with no or minimal liver disease Elevated Positive Infected with active liver disease, Elevated Negative False-positive Spontaneous viral clearance False negative HCV RNA Dormant hepatitis C infection, but some other cause for liver disease HCV RNA testing is also sometimes necessary in patients who are immunosuppressed, and who have unexplained elevations of the aminotransferases. Qualitative HCV RNA may also be used to determine whether infants of infected mothers are also infected, and in resolution of indeterminate serological testing.