Recommending a Hepatitis C test

As a professional, such as a GP, consultant, counsellor, nurse, addiction worker or clinician, your role in spotting Hepatitis C by identifying people who have been at risk and either offering, recommending or referring them for a test is vital. The SIGN Guideline: Management of Hepatitis C states that the following groups are required to be tested or offered a test.

Required testing

The following groups should be tested for Hepatitis C:

• blood/tissue donors
• patients on haemodialysis
• healthcare workers who intend to pursue a career in a specialty that requires them to perform exposure prone procedures
• healthcare workers at six, 12 and 24 weeks following an isolated acute percutaneous exposure to blood infected, or strongly suspected of being infected, with Hepatitis C, and anti-Hepatitis C testing at 12 and 24 weeks.

Recommended testing

Anyone with one of the following criteria should be offered a Hepatitis C test:

• an otherwise unexplained persistently elevated alanine aminotransferase (a liver enzyme, the elevation of which indicates inflammation of the liver)
• a history of injecting drug use
• a child with a Hepatitis C antibody positive mother
• HIV positive
• recipient of blood clotting factor concentrates prior to 1987
• recipient of blood and blood components before September 1991 and organ/tissue transplants in the UK before 1992
• a healthcare worker following percutaneous or mucous membrane exposure to blood suspected to be/infected with Hepatitis C
• received medical/dental treatment in a country where Hepatitis C is common and infection control may be poor
• had a tattoo or body piercing in circumstances where infection control procedure is suboptimal
• had a sexual partner/household contact who is Hepatitis C infected.