Home Health Center Hepatitis C   Diagnosing Hepatitis-C

Diagnosis of Hepatitis C


Individuals who are at a higher risk of developing hepatitis C infection should undergo testing. This helps doctors to administer early treatment that can slow down the rate of liver damage. Since a hepatitis C infection often does not cause any early signs and symptoms, screening is especially helpful. Those who are advised to undergo diagnosis of Hepatitis C infection include:

  • Those who have used illicit injected drugs
  • Those who have undergone liver function tests with unexplained, unusual results
  • Children born to mothers with hepatitis C infection
  • Health care workers who may have come in contact with needles and other instruments with contaminated blood
  • Individuals who were treated with blood clotting factors prior to 1987
  • Those who have undergone blood transfusions or organ transplants prior to 1992
  • Individuals who have had sexual relations with partners with the hepatitis C infection
Blood tests for Hepatitis C are helpful in the following ways:

  • They can detect the presence of the hepatitis C virus
  • They can determine the amount of hepatitis C virus in the blood
  • They can analyze the genetic makeup of the virus. This is helpful in deciding on the course of treatment.
Testing for hepatitis C infection may also be done through analysis of the liver tissue. In this test, a small sample of the liver tissue is obtained and analyzed in the laboratory. This helps to evaluate the degree of liver damage and also guides the doctors regarding the best course of treatment. The sample is obtained by inserting a thin needle into the liver and removing a small sample of the liver tissue.


Signs & Symptoms
Prognosis
References
  1. Alajos Pár, László Telegdy, Lajos Dalmi, Eva Müller, Hungarian Viral Hepatitis Treatment Study Group, Therapy for chronic hepatitis C, Journal of Physiology-Paris, Volume 95, Issues 1–6, January–December 2001, Pages 399-405, ISSN 0928-4257, 10.1016/S0928-4257(01)00054-7.
  2. Jacqueline Rhoads, Natural History and Epidemiology of Hepatitis C, Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS care, Volume 14, Issue 5, Supplement, September–October 2003, Pages 18S-25S, ISSN 1055-3290, 10.1177/1055329003254854.
  3. Samer S. El-Kamary, Michelle D. Shardell, Mohamed Abdel-Hamid, Soheir Ismail, Mohamed El-Ateek, Mohamed Metwally, Nabiel Mikhail, Mohamed Hashem, Amr Mousa, Amr Aboul-Fotouh, Mohamed El-Kassas, Gamal Esmat, G. Thomas Strickland, A randomized controlled trial to assess the safety and efficacy of silymarin on symptoms, signs and biomarkers of acute hepatitis, Phytomedicine, Volume 16, Issue 5, May 2009, Pages 391-400, ISSN 0944-7113, 10.1016/j.phymed.2009.02.002.