Evaluation of the Abbott RealTime HCV assay for quantitative detection of hepatitis C virus RNA

Background: The Abbott RealTime HCV assay for quantitative detection of HCV RNA has recently been introduced. Objectives: In this study, the performance of the Abbott RealTime HCV assay was evaluated and compared to the COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan HCV test. Study design: Accuracy, linearity, interassay and intra-assay variations were determined, and a total of 243 routine clinical samples were investigated. Results: When accuracy of the new assay was tested, the majority of results were found to be within +/-0.5 log(10) unit of the results obtained by reference laboratories. Determination of linearity resulted in a quasilinear curve up to 1.0 X 10(6) IU/ml. The interassay variation ranged from 15% to 32%, and the intra-assay variation ranged from 5% to 8%. When clinical samples were tested by the Abbott RealTime HCV assay and the results were compared with those obtained by the COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan HCV test, the results for 93% of all samples with positive results by both tests were found to be within +/-1.0 log(10) unit. The viral loads for all patients measured by the Abbott and Roche assays showed a high correlation (R-2 = 0.93); quantitative results obtained by the Abbott assay were found to be lower than those obtained by the Roche assay. Conclusions: The Abbott RealTime HCV assay proved to be suitable for use in the routine diagnostic laboratory. The time to results was similar for both of the assays. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.