Jerome K R, Gretch D R
Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, WA 98366, USA.
Minerva Gastroenterol Dietol. 2004 Mar;50(1):9-20.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major and growing health problem worldwide. Laboratory testing plays an important role in the response to the HCV epidemic. Serologic tests for antibody to HCV are useful for screening purposes. The mainstays of laboratory testing for HCV, however, are the molecular approaches. Qualitative molecular tests are useful for confirmation of positive screening tests. Quantitative molecular tests provide prognostic information regarding the likelihood of response to therapy, and allow the monitoring of treatment efficacy. Similarly, genotyping assays predict response to therapy, and allow rational decisions regarding duration of treatment. The combination of continually improving laboratory testing, together with new drugs targeting distinct molecular determinants that are either essential or important in the viral replication cycle, is likely to lead to dramatic improvements in the management of HCV disease.
丙型肝炎病毒（HCV）感染是全球一个日益严重的主要健康问题。实验室检测在应对HCV流行方面发挥着重要作用。抗HCV抗体的血清学检测对于筛查目的很有用。然而，HCV实验室检测的主要方法是分子检测方法。定性分子检测有助于确认筛查试验阳性结果。定量分子检测提供有关治疗反应可能性的预后信息，并有助于监测治疗效果。同样，基因分型检测可预测治疗反应，并有助于就治疗疗程做出合理决策。不断改进的实验室检测与针对病毒复制周期中必不可少或至关重要的不同分子决定因素的新药相结合，可能会使HCV疾病的管理得到显著改善。
