Infectious disease doctors often prescribe Anti hcv total blood counts for patients. What it is? Examination is one of the methods for diagnosing hepatitis C. An analysis is done if this disease is suspected. Sometimes a blood test is performed for people at risk for hepatitis to prevent infection.
What is hepatitis C?
Hepatitis C is a disease caused by the HCV virus. The infection is transmitted through blood and sexually. The causative agent of the disease affects liver cells, in advanced cases, cirrhosis occurs. Pathology is manifested by the following symptoms:
- weakness and fatigue;
- pathological proliferation of liver tissue;
- bloating and enlarged spleen;
- skin and whites of the eyes turn yellow.
Such pronounced symptoms can occur 14 days after the virus enters the body. But often the incubation period is delayed up to six months. Hepatitis is an insidious disease, for a long time the patient may not have any complaints. During this period, the virus manages to infect most of the liver cells.
To identify the disease as early as possible, doctors give a referral for a blood test Anti hcv total. What does this study provide for diagnosis? It allows you to accurately determine the presence of the virus long before the onset of the first symptoms of hepatitis C. This makes it possible to prescribe therapy as soon as possible, before the disease has not yet begun to destroy the liver.
Who is assigned the analysis?
First of all, infectious disease specialists prescribe this analysis to patients with signs of liver damage in order to determine the type of disease. This study is also indicated for hepatitis patients undergoing treatment to determine the effectiveness of treatment.
In addition, the study is prescribed to people who have an increased risk of infection:
- persons who received a blood transfusion prior to a mandatory donor study for hepatitis C;
- children born to infected mothers;
- HIV infected
- hemodialysis patients;
- medical professionals;
- patients before surgery;
- patients with abnormalities in a biochemical blood test for bilirubin and liver enzymes;
- people who have used (or have used in the past) injectable drugs.
Anti hcv total blood count: what is it?
In a person infected with hepatitis C virus, special protein compounds (immunoglobulins or antibodies) are formed in the body. So the immune system responds to the pathogen proteins (antigens). If the pathology proceeds secretly, then antibodies begin to form 90 days after infection. In acute manifestations of hepatitis, antibodies appear 14 days after the onset of the first signs of the disease.
The study of Anti hcv total on antibodies to hepatitis C virus antigens helps to detect immunoglobulins. In this case, it is possible to identify the disease at an early stage. For analysis, blood is taken from a vein. Then, by enzyme immunoassay , it is determined whether there are immunoglobulins against HCV virus in the test material. In a sick person, antibodies of class M and G are present in the blood. During the analysis, their total number is determined. The accuracy of the study is about 90%.
But antibodies to the virus are also found in the blood of patients who have had hepatitis in the past. They remain after the illness.
In patients with an acute form of the disease, immunoglobulins M are found in the blood. Antibodies G are usually determined during chronic hepatitis or in patients at the recovery stage.
Other hepatitis studies
In addition to a blood test for Anti hcv total, there are other methods for diagnosing hepatitis. What kind of research is this and how accurate they are, we will consider further.
The doctor may suspect hepatitis in terms of analysis of the biochemical composition of the blood. In sick people, the values of bilirubin and liver enzymes (AST and ALT) are several times higher than normal. But this does not always mean hepatitis. The same data can be observed with severe intoxications. Therefore, a biochemistry test alone is not enough to accurately diagnose the disease. With any deviations in hepatic indices, the doctor always prescribes additional diagnostics, including an antibody test.
To detect hepatitis in the early stages, a blood test by the method of poly-dimensional chain reaction (PCR) helps . Currently, this is the most accurate analysis, which is based on the determination of the RNA of the pathogen. This diagnostic method allows you to calculate the viral load, that is, the concentration of infection in the blood plasma. Such a study can be prescribed with a positive blood test for Anti hcv total, that is, when antibodies are detected. This helps to evaluate the effectiveness of the chosen method of treatment.
Sometimes PCR does not detect RNA of the virus, despite the fact that specific immunoglobulins are detected in the antibody assay. This happens in patients who have had hepatitis in the past.
How to pass the analysis
This study does not require complicated preparation. However, some guidelines must be followed before performing an Anti hcv total blood test. What are these rules?
- Investigations always take place in the morning on an empty stomach. You can only drink clean water.
- The day before blood donation, spicy, fatty, sweet, salty foods and alcohol are excluded from the diet.
- Do not smoke a few hours before the test.
- If the patient is taking any medications, a doctor should be warned about this.
Norms of analysis
There are no quantitative guidelines for this study. There are only 2 options for Anti hcv total analysis indicators - positive and negative. The results of the study are usually ready in a week, as the data sometimes require calculations and additional checks. A form with indicators must be presented to the attending physician. Only a physician will be able to correctly interpret the analysis data.
What is a positive Anti hcv total blood count? This means that antibodies to hepatitis C virus are present in the patient’s blood. Most often this result indicates a disease, but there are exceptions to this rule.
If the Anti hcv total blood count is negative , this indicates the absence of antibodies to hepatitis C. But this does not always mean that the person is healthy.
Negative result
This indicator means that at the moment the patient does not produce immunoglobulins against hepatitis C virus proteins. Most often this means that the person is not sick. But it’s too early to calm down, the absence of antibodies does not mean that there was no infection. If the patient has symptoms from the liver, then the doctor will prescribe additional studies. A negative result can be observed in sick people in the following cases:
- A person is infected with hepatitis, but too little time has passed since the infection, antibodies have not yet been developed.
- There is a seronegative form of hepatitis C in which immunoglobulins are not produced.
Therefore, if the patient is concerned about the liver, then the examination must be continued even with negative results of the analysis. Perhaps the doctor will prescribe a PCR diagnosis that will accurately show the presence of the virus.
Positive result
A positive Anti hcv total blood test in most cases indicates infection with hepatitis. Sometimes this may indicate a previous illness, then the doctor must be warned that the patient had hepatitis in the past.
With this result, additional studies are prescribed. There are 6 genotypes of the virus, and the treatment of each of them has its own specifics. Therefore, for the correct choice of the method of therapy, an analysis is carried out for the genotype of the causative agent of the disease.
There are extremely rare cases when a person is not sick, but the Anti hcv total blood test is positive. What does this mean? This occurs with serious malfunctions in the immune system. A false positive result of the analysis can be with the following pathologies:
- autoimmune diseases;
- tumors;
- infectious diseases.
However, the analysis gives distorted results in exceptional cases. And usually the presence of antibodies indicates infection with the hepatitis virus. The treatment regimen for the disease depends on the genotype of the microorganism, but there are general principles of therapy:
- prescribing antiviral drugs with the active components Sofosbuvir and Daclatasvir, as well as interferon-based drugs;
- taking hepatoprotectors, for example, Essentiale, Phosphoglyph, Karsil, Silimar;
- regular use of immunomodulators such as "Zadaxin", "Timogen";
- following a diet that restricts salty, spicy, greasy, and fried foods.
If the result of the antibody test turned out to be positive, the doctor diagnosed hepatitis C, then do not despair. This is not a sentence. With modern methods of diagnosis and treatment, the prognosis of the disease is favorable in 95% of cases.