title: Evaluation of sera with a low signal to cut-off ratio using two chemiluminescent assays for detecting Hepatitis C Virus, and their correlation with the detection of Viral RNA.
abstract: All commercial assays used to measure the presence of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies set cut-off points to categorise the results, but the problem of false positive results in screening hepatitis C sera is well known. The aim of this study was to evaluate the results obtained by two chemiluminescent assays in selected sera, and compare these results with the detection of viral RNA in the specimens studied.
  
  
  
  Two hundred reactive sera (positive) were selected, although with a low signal to cut-off ratio (S/CO), were selected, using two chemiluminescent assays and were then subjected to genome amplification.
  
  
  
  Viral RNA could be only be detected in 8 (4%) of the selected specimens. Taking these results into account, we believe that the design of the current chemiluminescent assays do not provide sufficient specificity when they are used as the only tests for the diagnosis of hepatitis C.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Microbiología, Hospital Universitario de Móstoles, Móstoles, Madrid, España. Electronic address: flopezf@salud.madrid.org.
authors.forename: M ª Fátima
authors.initials: MªF
authors.lastname: López-Fabal
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Microbiología, Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pérez-Rivilla
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Microbiología, Hospital Universitario de Móstoles, Móstoles, Madrid, España.
authors.forename: José Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Gómez-Garcés
mesh_terms: D000078331:Correlation of Data; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008163:Luminescent Measurements / Q000379:methods*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D012367:RNA, Viral
keywords: Chemiluminescence; Hepatitis C; Quimioluminiscencia; S/CO ratio; Índice S/CO