IJSR International Journal of Scientific Research 2277 - 8179 Indian Society for Health and Advanced Research ijsr-9-8-26392 Original Research Paper EFFICACY OF RAPID IMMUNOCHROMATOGRAPHIC TEST IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF HEPATITIS C. R Dr. Baveja S Dr. August 2020 9 8 01 02 ABSTRACT

Introduction: The Global Health Sector Strategy on Viral Hepatitis calls for elimination of viral hepatitis by 2030. For expediting the diagnosis of Hepatitis C cases, a largescale screening program for Hepatitis C by using a good point of care test becomes essential. Aims & objectives: To assess efficiency of rapid test to ELISA in detection of anti HCV antibody in the diagnosis of Hepatitis C. Method: A prospective, cross sectional study was conducted for a period of one year at a tertiary care hospital and included 600 subjects of all age groups. Five ml of blood was collected for testing Hepatitis C by both rapid (HCV Trustline, Chennai, India) & ELISA (MERILISA HCV, Gujarat, India) tests. Results were analyzed statistically. Result: Anti HCV antibody rapid test gave a sensitivity of 82% & specificity of 100% with a positive predictive value of 100% & negative predictive value of 99.66%, taking ELISA as the gold standard. Conclusion: The Rapid test (HCV Trustline) was found to be a good point of care test in the diagnosis of Hepatitis C and could be used in healthcare setup where rapid and accurate results are desired.