Anti-HCV reactive blood donors: clinical and epidemiological factors associated with false-reactive results

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Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2008 Nov;20(11):1071-6.

Anti-HCV reactive blood donors: clinical and epidemiological factors associated

with false-reactive results.

Narciso-Schiavon JL, Schiavon LL, Carvalho-Filho RJ, Cardoso JR, Freire FC,

Sampaio JP, Bordin JO, Soares MA, Silva AE, Ferraz ML.

aDivision of Gastroenterology, Hepatitis Section bDivision of Haematology,

Federal University of Sao o, Sao o, Brazil.

BACKGROUND: In certain clinical settings, false-reactive anti-hepatitis C virus

(HCV) results are rare because the majority of persons being tested have

evidence of liver disease and the specificity of the screening assays is high.

However, among healthy populations, such as blood donors, mainly in regions with

a low prevalence of HCV infection, this situation does occur. In this study, we

sought to assess clinical, epidemiological, and laboratory characteristics of

blood donors with false-reactive anti-HCV screening tests. METHODS: This

retrospective cross-sectional study included 537 anti-HCV reactive blood donors

referred to a tertiary care centre for liver diseases. RESULTS: The mean age was

36.5+/-11.2 years and 71.8% were men. Blood donors of older age (P=0.010),

history of alcohol abuse (P=0.039), past transfusion (P