title: Hepatitis C antibody assay in a longitudinal study of haemophiliacs.
abstract: Stored sera from 28 patients with inherited coagulation disorders who had developed non-A non-B hepatitis (NANBH) following a first exposure to clotting factor concentrates and 15 similar, but unmatched, patients who had received blood products but had normal transaminases on sequential testing were tested using the Ortho enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) anti-HCV assay. Twenty-seven of the 28 patients with NANBH were anti-HCV positive after exposure. In 10 of those in whom dates of first exposure and seroconversion were well-defined, the median time interval to NANBH was 4 weeks (range 1-7) and to anti-HCV seroconversion was 11 weeks (range 7.5-14.5). None of the 15 patients without NANBH developed anti-HCV. This first generation Ortho ELISA anti-HCV assay showed 96% sensitivity and 100% specificity and has potential use as an adjunct in the surveillance of new clotting factor products.
authors.affiliation: Haemophilia Centre, Royal Free Hospital, London.
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Charman
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tilsed
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Kernoff
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001779:Blood Coagulation Factors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006467:Hemophilia A / Q000628:therapy; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D065227:Transfusion Reaction
chemical_list: D001779:Blood Coagulation Factors; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies