Impact of Thermal Pre-treatment on HDV RNA Detection and Quantification in Clinical Practice
Background and Aim: Accurate detection and quantification of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) RNA are essential for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment monitor-ing. This study aimed to evaluate whether thermal shock pre-treatment im-proves HDV RNA detection and quantification using a commercial real-time RT-PCR assay. Methods: A total of 130 anti-HDV-positive serum samples were analysed with and without thermal shock pre-treatment prior to HDV RNA quantification. Qual-itative and quantitative results were compared between untreated and heat-treated aliquots. Results: Thermal shock increased viral load by =1 log in 78% of positive sam-ples and enabled HDV RNA detection above the limit of detection in four sam-ples initially classified as negative. Conclusions: These findings suggest that incorporating this step into routine workflows may reduce false negatives and represents a practical, low-cost, and impactful modification to current molecular protocols, directly strengthening clin-ical management and contributing to more reliable HDV surveillance.
Background and Aim: Accurate detection and quantification of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) RNA are essential for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment monitor-ing. This study aimed to evaluate whether thermal shock pre-treatment im-proves HDV RNA detection and quantification using a commercial real-time RT-PCR assay. Methods: A total of 130 anti-HDV-positive serum samples were analysed with and without thermal shock pre-treatment prior to HDV RNA quantification. Qual-itative and quantitative results were compared between untreated and heat-treated aliquots. Results: Thermal shock increased viral load by =1 log in 78% of positive sam-ples and enabled HDV RNA detection above the limit of detection in four sam-ples initially classified as negative. Conclusions: These findings suggest that incorporating this step into routine workflows may reduce false negatives and represents a practical, low-cost, and impactful modification to current molecular protocols, directly strengthening clin-ical management and contributing to more reliable HDV surveillance.
Hospital Universitario Clinico San Cecilio