RNA PCR RESULT

[melissab216]

I got a letter from my doctor saying my rna pcr is 610 can anyone tell me what this means. As im not seeing any numbers that low at all. I have a liver appointment aug 15th but any insight would be great. I already know i have hcv, but dont understand the 610. Dont know what genotype i have yet, i think ill find out when i go to liver doc. Thanks  

[melissa216]

So sorry took a while, i forgot my username and password so i made another one melissa216. My viral load was 610 lowest hes ever seen. They took more blood to make more of the virus to determine what genotype I have. Still do not know. I go back november, I am hoping they have more answers. Thanks everyone!

[nygirl7]

Yes I saw him it was so great to see his name pop up!!!!!!!!!!!

[willbb]

Hey bud....sup.....see Dave was here..cool huh!
Will

[nygirl7]

I think the old test was 615 not 610.  I could be wrong though. I have no idea what 610 might mean. I hopey you get this straightned out..let us know now I'm curious.

[melissab216]

It was a letter, no lab results on it it only said rna pcr 610 thats it! But thanks everyone, I am going to find out more at liver clinic appointment. Hopefully they can tell me what genotype and everything else. I still dont know! Thanks everyone again

[FlGuy]

There a some viral load tests available, by whatever methods TMA-PCR, that have limits of detection at or near 610.  So without the > or the < or an explicit log value or a numeric Melissa can't be absolutely sure at this point.the

[hrsepwrguy]

Thank you for the chance to try and help answer your question, you have a great day as well

[ceanothus]

Hi Melissa, and welcome to the forum! The HCV PCR test is a measure of the quantity of viral particles in your blood. Usually an antibody test first determines that you've been exposed to the virus, but a small percentage of immune systems are able to eliminate the virus on their own, so the PCR test is done largely to confirm that you still have the active virus. The numerical result is not really very significant because it diesnt correlate with how sick you are, and it really only matters when they are watching it go during treatment. The efficacy of treatment is determined by the drop in PCR values, and the time required to drop to undetectable levels usually determines how long one has to stay on the treatment drugs.

Is your upcoming appointment with a specialist? You should at the least be seeing a gastroenterologist, and your best bet would be to go straight to a hepatologist, as they have a lot more training and experience in liver diseases per se. Your doctor should order additional blood tests and an abdominal ultrasound, and ideally you should also have a liver biopsy done. The biopsy is the surest way to measure the amount of damage the liver has suffered so far, which is critical info in decisions about treatment options. While you are waiting to see your liver doctor spend as much time as possible educating yourself about the virus. This site is an excellent resource, as is http://hcvadvocate.org/. Best wishes!

[willbb]

Well  ,could be your VL,altho very odd reading. Is this the actual lab report you are looking at or just a letter possibly from clerical staff at your doctors

Is there an " IU/ML"  after the mumber. Also there should be a ref range  

ex.  43 IU/ML  -9 mill IU/ML   or threabouts.

Personally ,I would want to see a copy of the report as I mentioned.

Good luck...

Will

[melissab216]

Ok still dont understand. thanks alot! Hope u have a great day! I guess il find more out at liver appt. Dont know what to expect.

[hrsepwrguy]

Actually it would be between
    VL           log 10
1,250,000     6.097
1,275,000    6.105

Really no big difference in terms of VL

[melissab216]

this is what is says : Component 7/18/2012
HCV RNA By PCR 610


Further discuss at liver appointment!

[hrsepwrguy]

Does it say 6.10 because that would be your VL in logarithmic (log 10) form which would translate in to a viral load of
     VL           log 10
1,025,000      6.010

http://www.hepatitis-central.com/hcv/hepatitis/loadchart.html

Basically it is the same number expressed 2 different ways

What is Viral Load?
by: Albrecht Ernst

Your viral load is the amount of specific viruses that you have, in a given volume of your blood (usually 1 milliliter = 1 cubic centimeter). More precisely, it means that the amount of Hep C genetic material found in your blood corresponds to as many Hep C viruses as the given number says. Therefore the given number denotes "viral equivalents."

There appears to be no significant correlation between HCV RNA levels and ALT values or histological activity in patients untreated by anti-viral therapies (Interferon). Viral load varies between infected individuals but is not a useful prognostic indicator nor does it measure the severity of virus-induced liver disease

Logarthmic format

Now, recently some people express these numbers also in logarithmic form (logarithmic transformed number).

log(1730000)=6.24

6.24 is the logarithmic transformed number of the viral load of our above example. A result of 3.5 for a viral load, that someone reported, seems to be such a number (unless he forgot to write down a "10" and an exponent). You need a calculator to convert this. You have to use the function 10x , where you have to replace x with the logarithmic number, in the above case 3.5. The result would be: 103.5 = 3162 virus equivalents per milliliter.

When you take the logarithmic number from the first example, 6.24, you have to calculate 106.24 = 1730000 , and here we have the original number of virus equivalents again. If you don't have a calculator, you can estimate the order of magnitude of a viral load expressed as a logarithmic number. From the logarithmic number, you take the first digit (left of the point) and add 1 to this number. This gives you the number of digits that your viral load has (expressed as a plain number).

Example: Logarithmic number 6.24

Left of the point is "6". 6+1 = 7

The number that gives the viral load is 7 digits long, that means it is between 1,000,000 and 9,999,999 (digit # 1 234 567)

http://www.hepatitis-central.com/hepatitis-c/what-is-viral-load.html

[willbb]

It is always best to get a hard copy of your lab reports from your doctor,as there can be much mis- interpretation.

If it actually says it was a HCV/RNA by PCR test done then and the result was 610UI/ML  then yes that is your viral load(extremely low),however are you sure it does not say  "Log 6.10 "

Will