for Veterans and the Public Hepatitis C RNA qualitative testing
The qualitative HCV RNA tests use either a process called
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or a process called
transcription-mediated amplification (TMA). Either type of
qualitative test will report whether the hepatitis C virus is
present in the bloodstream or not. The result is reported as
either "detected" or "not detected." Explanation of test
results: If a qualitative RNA test is positive (detected), then
it is confirmed that the patient has chronic hepatitis C. The
"qualitative" test is more accurate than the "quantitative" test
because qualitative tests are able to detect very low levels of
the virus. Other things to know: - If a patient has a
quantitative test that shows no detectable virus, but has a
positive result with the qualitative test, it means there is a
very low level of virus that can be detected only with the
qualitative test. - The qualitative test will show a negative
result when patients have a successful response to interfe