title: Predictors for Early Identification of Hepatitis C Virus Infection.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can cause permanent liver damage and hepatocellular carcinoma, and deaths related to HCV deaths have recently increased. Chronic HCV infection is often undiagnosed such that the virus remains infective and transmissible. Identifying HCV infection early is essential for limiting its spread, but distinguishing individuals who require further HCV tests is very challenging. Besides identifying high-risk populations, an optimal subset of indices for routine examination is needed to identify HCV screening candidates. Therefore, this study analyzed data from 312 randomly chosen blood donors, including 144 anti-HCV-positive donors and 168 anti-HCV-negative donors. The HCV viral load in each sample was measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction method. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to find the optimal cell blood counts and thrombopoietin measurements for screening purposes. Correlations with values for key indices and viral load were also determined. Strong predictors of HCV infection were found by using receiver operating characteristics curves to analyze the optimal subsets among red blood cells, monocytes, platelet counts, platelet large cell ratios, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentrations. Sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (P < 0.0001) were 75.6%, 78.5%, and 0.859, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Kaohsiung Blood Center, Taiwan Blood Services Foundation, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan ; Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, College of Health Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Mei-Hua
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuei-Hsiang
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Kaohsiung Blood Center, Taiwan Blood Services Foundation, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuan-Tsou
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Kaohsiung Blood Center, Taiwan Blood Services Foundation, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chi-Ming
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.affiliation: Cishan Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Kaohsiung 842, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hung-Shiang
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan ; Translational Research Center, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan ; Institute of Medical Science and Technology, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Chang
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Tyan
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital-Kaohsiung Medical Center, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 833, Taiwan ; Department of Biological Sciences, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung 804, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hui-Wen
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, College of Health Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan ; Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, Banjul 1515, Gambia.
authors.forename: Bintou
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sanno-Duanda
authors.affiliation: Translational Research Center, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan ; Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ming-Hui
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Translational Research Center, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan ; Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan ; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan ; School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shyng-Shiou
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, College of Health Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan ; Department of Laboratory Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Pei-Yu
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Chu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D016174:Hepacivirus; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013926:Thrombopoietin / Q000097:blood; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D013926:Thrombopoietin; D000410:Alanine Transaminase