Next step after treatment?

[catlover]

My friend got hepc treatment in prison but left a few days after treatment and he is not sure what to do now. He is on a waiting list at 2 new doctors but it could take at least a few weeks to be seen.

Should he get tested now?

Does he need to do the hepc rna test next?

When and how does he find out if he's negative?

[KimInTheForest]

Hi Catlover. In general, the only relevant test after completing Hep C treatment is to be tested for presence viral RNA 12 weeks after completing treatment. For most people, this test will be negative ("undetected"), meaning they no longer have any viral RNA in their body and they are cured of Hep C (although not necessarily of the complications it may have caused). This is called SVR12, when a person reaches 12 weeks post-treatment and has no presence of virus. With the current drugs being used, this is considered cured. So if your friend is seeing a doctor in a few weeks, that will be fine. He will have plenty of time before his SVR12 test.

good luck to him!
kim

[Lynn K]

As Kim said he will need to have the hep c RNA test the HCV RNA by PCR at 12 weeks after treatment ended. If he is still clear or the virus with a "not detected" result he can call himself cured.

Just to add he should not have a hep c antibody test as he will always test positive for the rest of his life for antibodies to hep c because he was infected in the past.

Best of luck to him and congrats on getting treated and hopefully cured of hep c.

[gnatcatcher]

catlover, just in case your friend is unable to see a doctor in time to get tested exactly twelve weeks after the end of treatment, that is not a problem. We're considered cured if the virus is undetected at least twelve weeks after the end of treatment.

Of course, it will be better to get the good news sooner rather than later, so I hope your friend is able to get in to see a new doctor soon.

Best wishes to you and your friend.

Gnatty