Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Blood Test, Quantitative, Real-time PCR

A HCV Blood Test is used to determine the number of international units (IU) of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA per milliliter serum or plasma in known HCV-positive patients.

Description

The quantitative HCV RNA test is usually run prior to a patient starting treatment so that a baseline viral load can be determined. This test can also be used for patient undergoing treatment as a monitoring tool. When the quantitative HCV RNA measurement begins to drop it is a sign that the treatment is being well received by the patient. Eventually the measurement will be completely undetectable.