Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jan-Mar;9(1):5-9.
doi: 10.4103/ccd.ccd_297_17.

Detection of Hepatitis C Virus RNA in Blood and Saliva of Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia Patients Diagnosed with Hepatitis C

Behzad Hooshmand  1 , Seyed Moayed Alavian  2 , Farnaz Kouhestani  1 , Maryam Firouzmandi  3 , Saeed Reza Motamedian  4
Affiliations

Detection of Hepatitis C Virus RNA in Blood and Saliva of Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia Patients Diagnosed with Hepatitis C

Behzad Hooshmand et al. Contemp Clin Dent. 2018 Jan-Mar.

Abstract

Background: The aim of the current study was to detect hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in blood and saliva of a population of patients with thalassemia who have HCV antibody in their serum.

Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, blood and saliva samples were collected and were analyzed with quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the detection of HCV RNA. In addition, liver-related blood tests were performed, and patients' medical history was recorded. Data were analyzed by independent samples t-test and Chi-square with a significant level of 0.05.

Results: Overall, 62 adult patients (29 males and 33 females) were included. Most (87%) of the patients had major thalassemia and genotype 1a was the most common (42%) type. HCV RNA was detected in 71 and 16% of blood and saliva samples, respectively. HCV RNA was detected more in female patients (31%) (P = 0.003) and in intermediate thalassemia (50%) (P < 0.005). The mean age of the patients with positive saliva was almost 10 years older (P < 0.001), and the mean number of blood transfusion was fewer in positive saliva group (P = 0.037). The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of saliva PCR was calculated to be 18%, 88%, 80%, and 69%, respectively.

Conclusion: Saliva contained HCV RNA in 16% of the assessed population. The probability of detection of HCV RNA in saliva increased in older patients, less number of blood transfusions, females and intermediate thalassemia. Saliva RT-PCR demonstrated low sensitivity and high specificity with high positive predictive value in the assessed population.

Keywords: Blood; diagnosis; hepatitis C; hepatitis C antigens; saliva; thalassemia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Mukherjee R, Burns A, Rodden D, Chang F, Chaum M, Garcia N, et al. Diagnosis and management of hepatitis C virus infection. J Lab Autom. 2015;20:519–38. - PubMed
    1. Ansaldi F, Orsi A, Sticchi L, Bruzzone B, Icardi G. Hepatitis C virus in the new era: Perspectives in epidemiology, prevention, diagnostics and predictors of response to therapy. World J Gastroenterol. 2014;20:9633–52. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kountouras D, Tsagarakis NJ, Fatourou E, Dalagiorgos E, Chrysanthos N, Berdoussi H, et al. Liver disease in adult transfusion-dependent beta-thalassaemic patients: Investigating the role of iron overload and chronic HCV infection. Liver Int. 2013;33:420–7. - PubMed
    1. Hashemieh M, Timori Naghadeh H, Tabrizi Namini M, Neamatzadeh H, Hadipour Dehshal M. The Iran thalassemia prevention program: Success or failure? Iran J Ped Hematol Oncol. 2015;5:161–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bello PY, Pasquier C, Gourney P, Puel J, Izopet J. Assessment of a hepatitis C virus antibody assay in saliva for epidemiological studies. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 1998;17:570–2. - PubMed