What to do with the patient with a positive HCV antibody test

A test to measure hepatitis C antibody has recently been developed. The development of the antibody test was closely followed by the publication of two trials which demonstrated the efficacy of interferon alfa in the treatment of transfusion-associated hepatitis C. The author discusses management of the patient with a positive hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody test, including an approach to sorting out those patients who have false positive tests, information about modes of transmission for those patients who are asymptomatic carriers, and guidelines to determine which patients may be candidates for interferon therapy.