Confirmatory Testing for HCV Infection Often Not Performed

Approximately 3 million people in the U.S. are infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), a major cause of cirrhosis and hepatic cancer. Although HCV infection results in a persistently positive antibody test, spontaneous clearance of infection occurs in about 20% of cases. In such cases, the antibody test will remain positive, but the HCV RNA test will be negative. National guidelines recommend HCV RNA testing for anyone with a positive antibody test to ascertain true infection, but several studies have found that confirmatory testing is often not performed.

To examine the situation in New York City, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene researchers analyzed the records of 245 HCV antibody–positive individuals reported between July 2009 a…