Utility of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays to test core antigen in the diagnosis and antiviral therapy management of hepatitis C virus infections

In this study, we evaluate the performance of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for HCV Ag detection in the diagnosis and antiviral therapy management of HCV infections. For the diagnosis of an active HCV infection, the limit of detection of HCV Ag corresponding to HCV RNA level was approximately 7300 IU/mL; the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of HCV-Ag were 88.96, 100, 100, and 91.33%, respectively. The Pearson's correlation coefficient between HCV Ag and HCV RNA was 0.891. All patients with negative HCV Ag at interferon-alpha 2 alpha/ribavirin therapy week 1 achieved a sustained viral response (SVR), and the PPV was 100%; whereas in patients with positive HCV Ag at therapy weeks 12, the NPV for achieving non-response (NR) was 100%. The results showed that ELISAs for HCV Ag detection could be cost effectively applied to diagnose and evaluate the response to antiviral therapy for HCV infections.