Comparison of Rapid Immunochromatographic Test with ELISA for Anti- HCV Antibody Detection in Patients on Haemodialysis

Aim Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been identified as the major cause of post transfusion non-A, non-B hepatitis. The prevalence of HCV is consistently higher among haemodialysis patients than in general population. In this study, immunochromatographic test (ICT) is to be compared with Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the effective detection of anti-HCV antibodies in patients on haemodialysis.Methods A total of 106 blood samples from patients on haemodialysis were collected for a period of six months from July to December 2011. Sera were tested for anti HCV antibodies by rapid ICT initially and followed by third generation ELISA.Results Out of the 106 samples, females constituted 31 (29.2 per cent) of the study population whereas 75 (70.8 per cent) were males. The mean ages of males and females were 44.2 years and 41.2 years respectively. Anti-HCV antibodies were positive in 6 (5.66 per cent) patients by ICT method while 7 (6.6 per cent) patients were positive by ELISA method. The prevalence of HCV infection among haemodialysis patients in this study was 6.6 per cent. The sensitivity and specificity of the ICT kit were 85.7 and 100 per cent respectively whereas positive and negative predictive values were 100 and 99 per cent respectively.Conclusion The present study shows that rapid ICT is a valuable tool in emergency situations like dialysis. An additional test if available can detect HCV infection and helps to avoid nosocomial transmission of HCV infection among patients on haemodialysis with low antibody titre.