title: THE PERFORMANCE OF A RAPID TEST FOR ANTI-HCV SCREENING IN ORAL FLUIDS.
abstract: Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and saliva samples provide advantages for screening or sero-prevalence studies on HCV using less invasive methods. The study aimed to evaluate the performance of a rapid test for HCV-antibodies (HCV-Ab) screening in oral fluids among high-risk individuals with chronic liver disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Chronic liver disease patients attending at the Matei Bals National Instiute for Infectious Diseases were recruited for this study. Plasma, GCF and saliva samples (pair samples) were collected from each patient included in the study. Forty-three sample pairs were tested with Laboquick (Koroglu Medical Devices) rapid test and ELISA (DIA.PRO--Diagnostic Bio-probes) for the detection of anti-HCV antibodies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using rapid test, anti-HCV antibodies were detected in 36 GCFs (83.72%) and 24 saliva cases (55.8%) of infected subjects. For a better estimation of oral fluids positivity, the cut-off values were calculated following plotting the ROC curves (COV2). Comparing Laboquick and ELISA (COV2) data, matched results were noted in 95.3 % saliva samples and 93% GCF samples.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Oral fluids could be an alternative to blood for detection of HCV-positive subjects. Anti-HCV rapid test may be useful in routine dental medicine.
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Comănescu
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Aramă
authors.forename: Camelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grancea
authors.forename: Coralia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bleotu
authors.forename: Mihaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rădulescu
authors.forename: Cătălin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tilişcan
authors.forename: Anca
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Botezatu
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Anton
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ruţă
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine / Q000379:methods*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005883:Gingival Crevicular Fluid / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000821:virology; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies