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173975 tn?1216257775

Lab Results Interpretation Help, Please

Hello everyone.

Can someone please tell me if these results are promising?

Before I started tx, my lab results from 11/14/06 were as follows:

Hep C Quantitiation 1,140,000 IU/mL

HCV log10  6.057 log10  IU/ml

(Is the first number my viral load?)

The results I got today from 1/16 bloodwork are:

Hep C Quantitation 93,200  IU/mL

HCV log10  4.969  log10  IU/mL

Thanks in advance,

Wyntre
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Avatar universal
Just reading all this imformation and everytime i do i get alittle confused everytime and more frusterated, prob just like everyone one else..I do have regular doc appts monthly and they are more then willing to take the time to answer my questions and they do but the problem is by the time i get to my truck i forget  and to write them down i would prob loose the paper before the appt..... I was UND before my 4 week mark and side effects are managable. I requested the paper work for my blood work before treatment and my 3 week blood test  so i could review and maybe understand alittle better but havent of course, well somethings i have ... So my question is  being told i had a low VL 2.8 short term i guess, how do i find out what the long term is. I seen it at the doc appt but of course forgot and hate to ask again.. My VL is und but still question sitting on my mind and its been 2 weeks wondering the samething....And something else each week  take my needle i feel more grose the next day and each week seems to be a little more to it, by the way of feeling. Just wondering if anyone else experienced anything smiliar... Thank you for your input
Helpful - 0
173975 tn?1216257775
Oh, the neutrophils (Absolute)

That's the same as ANC, right?

mine is slightly lower than norm - 1.6  Normal in this test is 1.8 to 7.8.

WBC is also low - 2.7 and so are platelets, 133.

How low does WBC have to be for the Doc to recommend neupogen?

2 weeks ago he called me when it was down to 2.2 and had me see the hematologist for a shot.

CH, so glad you figured it out!

Guess my posts are a surefire treatment for brain fog.

Trying to decipher the indecipherable will, if nothing else, get the juices flowing.
Helpful - 0
173975 tn?1216257775
Thanks for the clarification, SF.

At the risk of repeating myself ( I posted this on the other side, twice) please check your email.  I sent you something.
Helpful - 0
131817 tn?1209529311
Yep, it sounds like those are ANC, Absolute Neutrifil count. 1.6 is awsome! I wish mine were that high! I hover btwn .9 and 1.1 these days and that is GOOD! When you see your hemotologist, and I am SO glad you are, he will give you a number of ANC that he will want to give you a booster shot. My Hemo said 1.0, I disagreed, so I hid from him for a while if they were lower, like .8 and get another CBC when they went up (which is frequently) I would send off the results. Platelets, ANC, WBC, VL can change dramatically in short periods of time. EVen Hgb, but I think that is slower...So don't worry too much when you see a low count, get another and keep on top of it. YOu will get the hang of it soon. Find out your Hemo's low #'s threshold to give his shots. Let us know...Great to get a Hemo in place to take care of things! YOu are doing great and are right where you should be! Good job! I will send you a big gold star, you deserve it. This stuff is tough to learn and deal with. I was just like you are now at the beginning of tx. Keep posting, learn alot and you will be great! You are asking all the right questions. You know there are no stupid questions!
Helpful - 0
173975 tn?1216257775
"You're doing absolutely fine on the absolute newts :) If they start getting down to 600 or 500 or 4,3, or.. omg 200, you're in big trouble. Just kidding, but seriously - 500 on the ANC is where most docs will get concerned; others won't and will let you get a little lower. Your platelets look good. You're doing great I think. Go get some juice :)"

I don't understand.  (Unfortunately, the juices are only for others
consumption.  they don't help me at all.  that's because I am the SOURCE of the juice (confusion).

But seriously, how does 1.6 for ANC relate to your number of 500?
I don't get the conversion stuff, the math stuff.
Is it 1,600 vs. 500?
(In my defense, that really is a big reason for my confusion.)

I also don't get the other issue, about the WBC.
My Doc put me on neupogen for 2.2 and not for 2.8.
I don't understand what the cut-off point is.

But I admire your tenacity and persistence in trying to show me the light.  :-)
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
You're doing absolutely fine on the absolute newts :)   If they start getting down to 600 or 500 or 4,3, or.. omg 200, you're in big trouble. Just kidding, but seriously - 500 on the ANC is where most docs will get concerned; others won't and will let you get a little lower.  Your platelets look good.  You're doing great I think.  Go get some juice :)
Helpful - 0
131817 tn?1209529311
Okay, I'll check. I HATE this going back and forth. Us tx'er's have enough trouble getting here, let alone trying to figure out which side we post on! Do we walk on the 'Wild Side' or do we walk on the "other side", and who knows which is which?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Not that I'm aware of. Quest Diagnostic's "Heptimax" goes down to 5 IU/ml and LabCorp has a test about the same (2 IU/ml).
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Great reading! And when I read Compulsive had figured out it was your 3 week PCR, it got even  better, and I said YAY!  It's looking good to me.  Your platelets look OK  (133 or... 130 something isn't bad yet, and so that's great news at this stage.)  Have you found out what your ANC is yet?  Somtimes it's not listed on the labs but your doc can tell you.  Did your GI doc tell you to stay home?  Even if it was just the regular doc, I think I'd be inclined to look at the couch real hard :)  Good luck.  You hang in there and let us know how you're doing and what they say.  

Hey Jim, I don't know much about the various viral load tests but have seen it discussed a lot here.  I came across this article a few days ago and was just curious - is this something that's going to be more sensitive if the FDA approves it?  

Roche Diagnostics Submits Hepatitis C Viral Load Monitoring Test to FDA
January 15, 2007 - 2:14 PM


Roche Diagnostics Submits Hepatitis C Viral Load Monitoring Test to FDA
January 15, 2007 - 2:14 PM

Test designed to give doctors highly accurate results and to improve workflow efficiency for labs

PLEASANTON, Calif., Jan. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Roche Diagnostics announced today that it has submitted its automated test for Hepatitis C viral load monitoring to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for review. The FDA will review the application to determine whether the test can be marketed for diagnostic use in the United States. The test, called the COBAS(R) AmpliPrep/COBAS(R) TaqMan(R) HCV Test, is designed to provide highly accurate information about the quantity of Hepatitis C virus in a patient's blood, from very high to very low levels. This type of diagnostic, called "viral load testing," is a key measure of how well a patient infected with Hepatitis C is responding to drug therapy.

(continued at article)


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Avatar universal
meaning to say fibrosis is the early stage term for cirroisis..scarring of the tissue. didn't mean to imply cirrosis at stage 2 ,not yet anyway..still have tumor lower lobe but unchanged so far..fingers crossed
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131817 tn?1209529311
ANC is Absolute Neutrifil Count. It should be on you CBC
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I am geno 1a and did not clear until week 24..on 44/72 and blood work is all normal except tsh, but getting there. My inflamation is gone. To tx is a personal decision ,however, I am glad I decided to nip it in the bud so to speak. my damage was stage 2,grade 2 with fibrosis(cirrosis). My chances were not the best when I started but have improved since txing !we all respond to tx differently.my blood work has been boderline for weeks but has now returned to normal ranges. best wishes:) shelly
Helpful - 0
131817 tn?1209529311
How about armpits? I know this is such a pleasant subject but is driving me nutz.
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Avatar universal
But what do I know...I've been dead for five years.
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173975 tn?1216257775
OK.

So based on my interpretation ;) my VL is less than 10% at 6 weeks than it was pre TX
(93,000 = more than a 90% drop from 1,140,000)

So, I therefore (choose) to conclude that it stands to reason that in twice the time, 12 weeks vs. 6 weeks, the VL will likely drop
to 10% of it's current rate of 93,000

WHICH, will mean 9,300, well under the magic number of 11,400.

Right?  :)

OK, you don't have to answer that.  
But, seriously, I really appreciate the number crunching.  
I'd always rather KNOW than NOT.
But you still didn't tell me what PRP is.
Helpful - 0
173975 tn?1216257775
A Ghost in the Post.  OOOOOOOoooo.

Someone better report it.  It's haunted.  :)
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Avatar universal
HCA
Check out Jim's post above-he is well informed and respected on treatment issues.
I think you mean PCR-stands for polymerase chain reaction,and is the lab process which analyses the quantity of RNA (the virus) which is evident in the blood sample they took from you.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
jmjm,
Yes, that was a pretty strange little study.  Your pretty lively for somkeone who's been dead 5 years...


wyntre,

Do you mean a PCR  - as in 12 week pcr?

a PCR is your viral load test, its the one that gives those numbers  you've been crunching...
Helpful - 0
163305 tn?1333668571
Since my platelets and wbc are much, much lower than yours, I don't think you have much to worry about. I wouldn't run around wiping snotty kid's noses but as long as things stay where they are, I wouldn't worry. ( But I may not be a good one to listen to)
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Wyn,

How much ribavirin are you taking, how much do you weigh and do you know what your pre-treatment hemoglobin was and what your hemoglobin is now? I ask because it's important to be on the current riba dose for your weight and more than that some suggest that if you don't have a decent enough hemoglobin drop, maybe the ribavirin isn't being absorbed into your system as effeciently as it should. Not all agree on the latter.

SF,

I don't see any disagreement except for how I'd personally handle being detectible at week 12. If you're detectible at week 12 and non-detectible by week 24, then your chance of SVR goes up if you treat for 72 weeks. But if you're still detectible at week 24, your chance of SVR is not very good. I think this is what you are saying as well?

-- Jim
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
OK. That means it's your week 4 viral load test which makes perfect sense. It still shows you're responding, just not a rapid responder. Might then want to ask your doctor to test you again for viral load at let's say week 6. BTW, try and get your next viral load test the day before your shot. For example, ideally your week 6 viral load test would be the day before your 7th shot.

-- Jim
Helpful - 0
173975 tn?1216257775

"How much ribavirin are you taking, how much do you weigh and do you know what your pre-treatment hemoglobin was and what your hemoglobin is now? I ask because it's important to be on the current riba dose for your weight and more than that some suggest that if you don't have a decent enough hemoglobin drop, maybe the ribavirin isn't being absorbed into your system as effeciently as it should. Not all agree on the latter."

I know I'm gonna be demoted or unpromoted or left back.

I weigh 140.
I'm on 1000 of Ribavarin.
Hemoglobin now is 13.2
Hemoglobin before tx was
(drumroll)
14.5

Helpful - 0
131817 tn?1209529311
Jim; Got ya! I know you are saying this way after the fact, but can you really say if you were in the postion of extending if you weren't totally clear at week 12, but were at week 15 you would have stopped? Of course then there weren't the studies in that there were then...

Wyn/Jim/compulisive;  From what I have read and heard (Jim has the studies) we don't have to worry about catching things when our White counts are low on tx. I have been on planes, trains and with tons of snot nosed kids at fairs and haven't caught a thing with really low platelets and WBC/ANC at 400.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
That's the correct ribavirin dose for your weight. Depending again on how agressively you might want to fight this, you could ask your doctor about increasing your ribavirin to 1200 mg/day. The logic here is get your serum ribavirin levels up higher with the hope of speeding up your viral response. The downside of increasing ribavirin is that you may end up with more side effects including anemia. Certainly not a clear cut call given your numbers.  BTW do you know what stage liver damage you have from your biopsy?

-- Jim
Helpful - 0
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