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Test Code HCVL Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Quantitative PCR, Blood

Infectious

Specimen and Container/Tube

Specimen Type: Whole blood

Preferred Specimen: Lavender EDTA tube

Volume

Preferred Volume: 5 - 10 mL

Minimum Volume: 3 mL

Specimen Stability

Storage Temperature

Stability

Room temperature

(20 - 25°C)

24 hours

Refrigerated

(2 - 10°C)

 24 hours

Frozen

(-20°C)

not acceptable

Collection Instructions

Specimen Collection: Venipucture


Specimen Transport: Immediate

Specimen Handling and Transport Instructions

UCMC Onsite Instructions: Collect specimen per standard collection procedure and send to laboratory immediately. 

 

UCMC Offsite and UC MedLab Outreach Instructions: Collect specimen per standard collection procedure and send to laboratory immediately. If transport is delayed, refrigerate specimens prior to transport.

Rejection Criteria

  • Common specimen rejected situations include: incorrect specimen type, insufficient volume, incorrect collection container, missing or incomplete specimen identifiers, incorrect specimen transport, or specimens outside stability limits. 
  • Only one test request per day is accepted.
  • Whole blood/unspun samples greater than 24 hours will be rejected. 
  • Whole blood not collected in Lavender top vacuatainer tube will be rejected.

Reference Values

 

Analyte

Age

Sex

Reference Range

Negative

All

All

No HCV RNA detected

Detection limit

All

All

 15 IU/mL

Quantitation Reportable Range

All

All

 15-30,000,000 IU/mL

Quantitation Reportable Range Log

All

All

 1.18 - 7.48 IU/mL
 

Turnaround Time

Turnaround times are relative to the time the specimen is received in the test laboratory. 

STAT Turnaround Time: not available

Routine Turnaround Time: 72 hours

Testing Schedule: Monday - Sunday

Clinical Indications

  • cobas® HCV has not been approved for use as a screening test for the presence of HCV in blood or blood products.

  • Quantitation of HCV RNA is dependent on the number of virus particles present in the samples and may be affected by sample collection methods, patient factors (i.e., age, presence of symptoms), and/or stage of infection.

CPT Codes

87522

LOINC Codes

30687522

Methodology

Roche cobas® 6800 automated PCR

Synonyms/Keyword Search

HCV PCR, HCV Quantitation, HCV Titer, HCV viral load, Hepatitis C, HEP C VIRAL LOAD, Hepatitis C Viral Load

Last Review Date

09/05/2025