title: Detection of hepatitis C viral RNA in sporadic acute non-A, non-B hepatitis by polymerase chain reaction. Its usefulness for the early diagnosis of seronegative infection.
abstract: To determine the prevalence of hepatitis C viral infection in patients with sporadic non-A, non-B (NANB) acute hepatitis, hepatitis C viral RNA was studied in the plasma of 15 patients by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay. Plasma samples were sequentially obtained from 15 patients, and polymerase chain reaction was performed with two nested pairs of primers deduced from the 5'-non-coding region of hepatitis C viral sequences. Anti-C100 and anti-GOR antibodies were also measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay system. Plasma hepatitis C viral RNA was detected transiently in 7 of 15 patients (47%) at an early phase of the clinical course, while anti-C100 antibodies were detectable in only 2 (29%) of hepatitis C viral RNA-positive patients, and in 1 (13%) of the negative patients. Of 7 patients that were positive for plasma hepatitis C viral RNA, 4 (57%) had relapsing or protracted courses. In contrast, in all patients with undetectable hepatitis C viral RNA, hepatitis C viral RNA recovered and remained normal for at least 1 year. Thus, hepatitis C viral infection represents almost half the patients with acute sporadic NANB hepatitis, and detection of hepatitis C viral RNA in an early clinical phase is superior to anti-C100 measurement for diagnosing acute sporadic hepatitis C viral infection.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Haritani
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maekawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurosaki
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Enomoto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hoshino
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tazawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marumo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001483:Base Sequence; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D012367:RNA, Viral; C078224:anti-C100-3