Abstract
To survey clinical associations of a positive hepatitis C virus antibody (HCV-antibody) test. Retrospective analysis of all positive HCV-antibody tests reported by a Virology Department. A complex secondary and tertiary care teaching hospital. 144 confirmed cases with HCV-antibody in serum, identified from approximately 2,500 clinical specimens tested. Over 99% of positive tests were in the following groups: liver dysfunction; multiply transfused individuals; intravenous drug abusers; patients with bleeding disorders; and renal replacement therapy. Amongst the patients with liver disease--the only group in which a known epidemiological association was not the indication for testing--over 25% of patients had no risk factor identifiable, representing 7.5% of the total group of HCV-antibody positive patients. Selective HCV-antibody testing in a U.K. hospital population reveals a substantial population of positive patients, and risk factors for hepatitis C are not always present.
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