Improved detection of hepatitis C virus-positive blood donors and determination of infection status.

In low-risk populations, variability in the sensitivity of current serological tests for Hepatitis C virus (HCV) blood donor screening may lead to the presence of false-positive results. This contributes to the unnecessary loss of blood donor samples as well as to difficulty in accurate donor counselling. The present study determined the optimal cut-off value of a chemiluminescent immunoassay for identification of HCV-reactive blood donors. In a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of 193 973 blood donations, 578 samples that were positive for HCV antibody in a chemiluminescent immunoassay and/or RNA screening tests were identified. Blood from 379 of these positive samples was available for retesting by a second confirmatory HCV immunoassay followed by a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Donors were also recalled for a new analysis. Only 71 (18.7%) blood samples remained HCV-positive upon retesting, while 233 (61.5%) now tested negative and 75 (19.8%) yielding indeterminate results. A signal to cutoff ratio ≥4.32 was determined as the best differential threshold between a positive and negative result, increasing the positive predictive value from 27.3% to 66.7%. Using a higher threshold for an HCV-positive blood sample enhances the chemiluminescent immunoassay screening test´s accuracy and helps to improve donor counselling and notification processes. © 2022 British Blood Transfusion Society.

Citation

Anna S Nishiya, Cesar de Almeida-Neto, Steven S Witkin, Suzete C Ferreira, Nanci A Salles, Fátima A H Nogueira, Claudia Di Lorenzo Oliveira, Vanderson Rocha, Alfredo Mendrone Júnior. Improved detection of hepatitis C virus-positive blood donors and determination of infection status. Transfusion medicine (Oxford, England). 2023 Apr;33(2):159-164

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PMID: 36251615

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