Clinical Diagnostic Value of Hepatitis C Virus Core Antigen (HCV-cAg) and RNA Quantitative Analysis and Their Correlation with Liver Function Indicators

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1004-5775.2025.13.017

Abstract：Objective: To explore the clinical diagnostic value of hepatitis C virus core antigen (HCV-cAg) and RNA quantitative analysis, as well as their correlation with liver function indicators. Methods: A total of 104 patients diagnosed with hepatitis C in Anyang Tumor Hospital from October 2021 to October 2023 were selected as the study subjects. HCV-cAg was detected using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), HCV-Ab was detected using magnetic particle chemiluminescence, HCV-RNA was detected using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were measured using an automatic biochemical analyzer. The single detection results of HCV-cAg, HCV-Ab, and HCV-RNA were analyzed, as well as the diagnostic results of combined detection of HCV-cAg and HCV-Ab for hepatitis C. Correlation software was used to analyze the correlation between HCV-cAg and HCV-RNA, the correlation between HCV-RNA quantification and liver function indicators, and the correlation between HCV-cAg and liver function indicators. Results: The positive rates of serum HCV-Ab, HCV-cAg, and HCV-RNA were 91.35%, 60.58%, and 54.81%, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the positive rate between single detection of HCV-Ab and that of HCV-cAg or HCV-RNA (P > 0.05). Among the HCV-cAg detections, 59 cases were confirmed positive by HCV-RNA, and 4 cases were negative. Among the HCV-Ab detections, 84 cases were confirmed positive by HCV-RNA, and 11 cases were negative. Among the HCV-cAg-positive specimens, 11 cases were HCV-Ab-negative, but 7 of them were confirmed positive by HCV-RNA. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of HCV-cAg detection were 42.30%, 99.50%, 95.06%, and 100.00%, respectively. For HCV-Ab detection, these values were 95.03%, 100.00%, 87.61%, and 100.00%, respectively. Compared with HCV-RNA detection results, there were statistically significant differences in the positive predictive value of HCV-cAg detection (P < 0.05). Correlation analysis software showed that HCV-cAg and HCV-RNA were positively correlated (r = 0.874, P < 0.05); HCV-RNA quantification was positively correlated with ALT indicators (r = 0.842, P < 0.05); and HCV-cAg was also positively correlated with ALT indicators (r = 0.827, P < 0.05). Conclusion: When diagnosing hepatitis C virus infection clinically, the combination of HCV-cAg and liver function indicators has high clinical value. HCV-cAg has a high specificity but low sensitivity. When the viral load is above 5.0 × 10^2, HCV-cAg and HCV-RNA are positively correlated, and both HCV-RNA quantification and HCV-cAg are positively correlated with ALT indicators.